


Phantasmagoria

by Mikauzoran



Series: Springtime in Wonderland [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste is a Lightweight for Affection, Adrien is not in a good place mentally sometimes, Angst, Broken Families, Family Issues, Flirting, Fluff, Friendship, Hot Mess Adrien Agreste, Hurt/Comfort, Luka tries to be good but Adrien makes it so difficult, M/M, Music Nerds, One-sided feelings, Pining, Platonic Bed Sharing, Slightly Aged-Up (16 and 18), Talking, protective luka
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-09-06
Packaged: 2020-07-24 23:54:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 54,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20023093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mikauzoran/pseuds/Mikauzoran
Summary: Luka runs into Adrien on the anniversary of his mother’s disappearance in a bar where Luka’s band is playing, and Luka takes it upon himself to make sure Adrien gets home safe. This proves harder than expected when Adrien ends up spending the night on the Liberty. Luka struggles to take care of Adrien without taking advantage. Adrien makes this more difficult with his lack of personal boundaries and propensity to flirt. Secrets are shared, brutally honest conversations are held, and the two grow closer through shared pain and love of music.





	1. If music be the food of love…

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! For those of you who don't know, I'm Mikau. For those of you who do know, I'm still Mikau. Thank you for finding your way here. I'm so pleased to have you!
> 
> One thing really quick: une limonade is not exactly the same as a lemonade, so I've decided to leave it in French. I know that's going to bug some of you, so I'm getting it out of the way up front. ^.^
> 
> I hope to have the second part up on Friday, 08/02/2019, but, until then, enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luka runs into Adrien in a bar and attempts to take care of the poor child. Confidences are shared, comfort is given, and Luka begins to suspect that he is in deep trouble.

Luka had never really been one for coincidences. Charles Dickens was a wonderful writer, but centering a plot around two guys happening to look enough alike for one to be executed in the other’s place without an ounce of consanguinity was just…not a deal-breaker, per se, but still a bit of a letdown.

However.

Luka was considering a change of heart concerning coincidences because what were the odds that Adrien Agreste would find himself in that particular bar on that particular night when one of Luka’s bands was performing? Maybe coincidences were acceptable plot devices when they worked in Luka’s favor.

Luka’s skin burned as his sister’s cute, blonde friend stared at the band (at Luka?), entranced, as they played a metal cover of Saint-Saëns’s Danse Macabre, their last song of the night.

Seven minutes passed in a blur as Luka tried to watch Adrien’s reactions without letting their eyes meet. He had a feeling that Adrien might look away or bolt if he knew he’d been spotted.

After the song came to an end, Luka took the first possible opportunity to rush off the stage and quickly pack up his stuff.

Jacob, the bassist, cocked an eyebrow in suspicion. “Where’s the fire?”

“I want to try to catch someone I saw in the crowd,” Luka explained, carefully placing his guitar into its case.

Josie, the drummer, let out a wolf whistle. “Is she cute?”

Luka rolled his eyes. “He.”

“Is _he_ cute?” Josie revised, clapping him good-naturedly on the back as she passed.

 _“Of course he is. He’s a literal model,”_ Luka thought to himself but responded only with a shake of the head and an exasperated smile.

“Ignore them, Luc,” Marc, their leader and vocalist, laughed, coming up to tussle Luka’s hair. “They’re only capable of thinking with their pelvises.”

Jacob and Josie held their hands up in surrender even as they shot each other lascivious smirks.

“Go,” Marc encouraged. “We’ve got cleanup covered.”

“Thank you.” Luka gave the older man a grateful smile and hurried off.

“Good luck with your conquest!” Jacob shouted after him.

Luka gave no indication that he had heard.

Luka found Adrien seated at the end of the bar, head down, sipping nervously at a limonade, and muttering into his drink. The younger boy looked like he really wished he could turn invisible. His dark-wash jeans and black, designer polo didn’t look particularly out of place in the bar, but Adrien’s posture screamed, “I don’t belong here”.

Luka slid onto the barstool next to Adrien’s. “Is this seat taken?” he purred in what he hoped was a suave, I-pick-up-models-in-bars-all-the-time voice.

Adrien jumped, nearly knocking over his glass.

Luka winced. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“L-Luka,” Adrien choked. “No. No, it’s fine. Sorry. Um…go ahead. No one’s…” He bit his lip and trailed off.

Luka kept a tranquil, reassuring smile pasted on. “Thanks. So…what are you doing here?”

Adrien’s shoulders slumped, and he bowed his head with a sigh of resignation. “Busted. It figures.” He looked up with limpid green eyes that turned Luka’s insides to mush, pleading, “I swear I’ll go straight home, so could you do me a favor and please not tell on me?”

Adrien rose to go, but Luka caught him by the wrist.

“Wait,” he chuckled.

Adrien’s brow furrowed in an expression of confused apprehension.

“Sit back down,” Luka urged. “That wasn’t an accusation. I was honestly just asking what brought you here out of curiosity. Adrien, I’m not going to rat you out.”

Luka’s easy smile seemed to calm Adrien somewhat as his anxiety gave way to simple puzzlement.

“You’re not?” He took a seat. “But…I’m not supposed to be here. I’m…” Adrien cast a quick glance around them and lowered his voice. “… _underage_.”

Luka could only laugh softly. “Adrien, you’ve met my mother, Queen of Anarchy, right? Do you think I care that you’re not supposed to be here?”

An attractive blush spread across Adrien’s cheeks, and his posture relaxed as he laughed at himself. “I guess not. Sorry. Guilty conscience.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Luka insisted, letting go of Adrien’s wrist and giving the younger teen a pat on the back. “So, for real, what are you doing here?”

Adrien gulped, looking down at his limonade. “Acting out?”

“Oh?” Luka hummed in interested but allowed Adrien to decide whether to elaborate or not.

Adrien sighed, running a hand through his hair. “At least, I’m _trying_ to. My plan was to sneak out and, you know, ‘paint the town red’. I thought I would hit up a bar and get a little drunk and dance with wild abandon and maybe end up on the front of tomorrow’s gossip rags to kind of…I don’t know.”

Adrien blew out another sigh. “This was supposed to be the precipitating event that would make my father realize that there’s more to life than ruling a fashion empire and that children don’t just raise themselves. I thought…if I really screwed up, maybe he’d, you know, _do_ something about it. Personally.”

Adrien’s voice crumpled into a small, defeated, and yet still wishful tone. “…Like play board games with me once or twice a month…or maybe eat meals with me sometimes or…”

Luka wasn’t sure what to do. His natural instinct was to reach out and rub soothing circles on Adrien’s back like Luka did for Juleka sometimes, but he didn’t know Adrien particularly well, and they weren’t close enough for him to be able to determine whether the contact would be welcome.

Adrien rested his head on the counter, oblivious to Luka’s internal struggle. “This was a bad plan,” he groaned. “Places like this with all these people I don’t know stress me out. I don’t know how to act around others outside of an industry party setting. I feel so out of place, and I’m terrified to even try to order anything with alcohol in it because the bartender is going to take one look at me and laugh because I’m sixteen and I _look_ it. Then they’re going to call my father and get him out of bed, and he’s going to send me away to a boarding school for troubled rich brats.”

Adrien looked up with damp eyes, the tears threatening to break at any moment. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to be such a downer. I just—” He broke off with a shake of the head. “I’m sorry for going off on you like that. I wish I had the excuse of being drunk, but I don’t. I’m just blathering at you because it’s been the matriarch of bad days, and I suck at this. I really suck at this.” Adrien let out a strangled laugh. “I can’t even act out right.”

“Hey,” Luka cooed, reaching out to give Adrien’s shoulder a comforting squeeze. When Adrien leaned into the touch, Luka dared to run his thumb gently up and down the side of Adrien’s neck in slow, soothing strokes.

“You’re fine,” Luka whispered as softly as he could to still be heard in the bar.

Adrien soaked up the attention like a sponge as calm washed over him and his breathing evened out.

“You’re not blathering. You’re fine,” Luka continued in a level, almost hypnotic tone. “You can talk to me about it. I know we’re not close, but…think of me as a friend. I’d like to be your friend.”

Adrien studied Luka thoughtfully for a moment. “…Okay,” he decided, the tension leaving his body. “I’d like that.”

Luka smiled and gradually retracted his hand, letting it slide down Adrien’s arm before pulling away. “It sounds like you’re going through some stuff. Do you want to talk about it? I don’t mind listening.”

Adrien bit his lip, gaze dropping back down to his glass on the counter.

“You don’t have to confide in me,” Luka clarified. “I just want you to know that you can if that’s what _you_ want, okay?”

Adrien nodded. “It’s just the usual family drama,” he sighed, picking up his limonade and taking a disinterested sip. “My mother walked out on us three years ago, and it kind of wrecked my father. Not that he was dad of the year before, but…sometimes…I don’t think he loves me. Sometimes I feel like I’m an obligation, like an item on a checklist—did someone feed Adrien today? I have to remember to say hello to Adrien sometime this week; I haven’t done that lately. Adrien was less than perfect at something; I have to come out of my atelier and act like a parent for once this month by disciplining my child,” Adrien mocked ruefully, his grip on his glass tightening. “It’s…stupid. I should just be grateful I have a roof over my head and plenty of food to eat. I know there are a lot of people with a lot less than I have, but…I’d trade it all for a two-bedroom apartment in the twentieth arrondissement and a father who loved me…. That’s all. I’m done talking now.”

Adrien groaned, looking up in mortification at Luka. “I’m so sorry. I’m sure I sound like such a whiney brat. I’m not normally like this. Today was just—”

“—I remember what it was like when my father left us,” Luka cut in. “I remember how bad that hurt for him to leave me and my mom and Juleka. I don’t think I’d be as okay as I am today if I hadn’t known without a doubt that my mother loved me fiercely, so…don’t apologize so much. You might live in luxury, but, emotionally, you’ve had it rough…and it’s okay to have a bad day.”

“Oh,” Adrien replied softly, more his lips forming the syllable than him actually saying the word in his stunned state.

He had expected only disdain and resentment for daring to complain when so many others had less, but Luka had given him acceptance and comfort. It left him breathless, a warm feeling slowly blooming in his chest.

“…Thank you,” Adrien thought to add a few minutes later.

“Sure.” Luka’s lips shifted into a smile of support and understanding.

A comfortable silence fell between them as Adrien looked thoughtfully down into his glass and Luka took the opportunity to study his companion.

Luka pursed his lips. “…You don’t look like you’re having much fun. Do you want me to take you home?”

Adrien shook his head. “If I go home and no one knows I was missing, I’m going to cry. When I get home, I really need my father to be worried sick. I need to see the look of relief on his face, and I need him to pull me into a crushing hug and tell me he was scared…before he inevitably chews me out and grounds me. I need some kind of proof that…” He trailed off and shook his head again. “This is a desperate plea for help. I’m aware that I’m being childish, but…”

Luka reached out and tussled Adrien’s hair. “You’re not being childish. You’re trying to take care of yourself. True, it would be better if you could just ask your father for the affection you need without all this trouble, but…if you need something, Adrien, it’s not wrong to try to get it.”

Adrien laughed, an amused grin slowly stretching across his lips. “Luka, I _know_ I’m being childish. I really appreciate you saying otherwise, though. It’s nice to feel like my theatric displays are valid forms of emotional expression.”

“Your feelings, at least, are valid,” Luka murmured.

There was a beat.

“If you’re not going home, allow me to keep you company,” Luka proposed. “You’re obviously feeling pretty raw. The last thing you need is to be alone with all that right now.”

“I wouldn’t want to ruin your night with my morose mood,” Adrien explained with a sad shake of his head. “I don’t imagine hanging out with me would be any fun for you. I couldn’t make you do that. I appreciate the offer, though.”

“Please,” Luka rolled his eyes. “There’s no way I can just leave you like this. It will ruin my night if I walk away now. I won’t be able to sleep for worrying about you.”

A gradual blush slowly worked its way up into Adrien’s cheeks as a pleased smile teased at his lips. “…Well…if you don’t mind.”

“I’ve already told you I’m here for you if you need to talk through whatever’s going on,” Luka reminded gently. “Friends are there for one another.”

“Okay,” Adrien tentatively agreed, turning a grateful smile on Luka that made his insides twist up.

“Can I buy you a drink?” Luka hummed happily at his triumph. “You said you wanted to get a little drunk?”

“ _Can_ you buy me a drink?” Adrien wondered. “Will the bartender let you?”

Luka shrugged. “We’ll find out. Provided he does, what would you want?”

Adrien chewed thoughtfully on his lip. “This is embarrassing, but…I have no idea. I’ve only ever had wine with meals, and while I know my way around a wine list and what to pair with what…I really don’t have the first clue about any other type of alcohol. Any recommendations?”

Luka smiled warmly. “Okay. So you probably don’t want anything too strong to start with. What kinds of wine do you like? Sweet? Dry? Savory? Tannic?”

Adrien shrugged. “Sweet and fruity is best, in my opinion.”

Luka nodded. “Okay. Maybe something with fruit juice where you can’t really taste the alcohol. Maybe a piña colada or sex on the beach.” Luka took note of the fetching blush forming on Adrien’s cheeks but benevolently refrained from commenting. “Or…do you like chocolate?”

Adrien’s eyes widened, pupils dilating in interest. “Yes?”

“How about a chocolate martini?” Luka suggested.

“ _Yes_ ,” Adrien agreed emphatically, a relaxed smile settling onto his features.

“Perfect,” Luka chuckled. “And if they won’t serve you here, I’ll take you back home with me and make you one myself. Sound good?”

Adrien nodded happily. “Thank you.”

Luka winked. “No sweat.” He turned his attention to the bartender. “Hey, Raoul. Can I please get a chocolate martini and a whiskey, neat?”

Raoul, a large man with sable skin and a shaved head, turned to grin at Luka. “Coming right up, Bluebell.” He paused, smile faltering when he caught sight of Adrien. The smile faded into a frown. “The other drink’s for him?”

Luka nodded confidently. “Problem?”

Raoul sighed, coming over to mutter. “Bluebell, there’s no way your date is eighteen.”

“He just had a birthday,” Luka lied, face impassive.

Raoul arched an eyebrow doubtfully.

Luka had the gall to look hurt. “Would I lie to you?”

“Yes,” Raoul barked in laughter before turning to Adrien with a sigh. “How’s your alcohol tolerance, Dollface?”

Adrien winced and answered truthfully. “Practically nonexistent?”

Raoul took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You get two drinks. That’s it.” He turned back to Luka, waving an accusatory finger in the guitarist’s face. “You. Watch him. You’re in charge of making sure he’s okay. Screw up, and I never bend the rules for you again, Couffaine. Got it?”

Luka pushed Raoul’s finger away with a disarming smile. “I’ll take care of him.”

“See that you do,” Raoul threatened. “Chocolate martini and a whiskey, neat coming right up.”

Luka waved Adrien away when he attempted to pay, insisting, “Tonight’s on me.”

“But—”

“—No buts.” Luka put down his foot. “You can tip Raoul, if you want, but I’m paying for your drinks.”

Adrien stared at his companion intently for a minute before determining that he would not be winning this fight. “…Thank you,” he replied instead and then repeated the words as Raoul set the chocolate martini down in front of him. He handed Raoul twenty euros.

“You’re welcome. Watch yourself around this one.” Raoul pointed to Luka. “He might look like a bad boy, but he’s really a prince in disguise. You’ve found yourself a decent guy.”

“Thanks,” Adrien chuckled, not bothering to correct Raoul’s assumption.

Luka took a drink of his whiskey and watched attentively as Adrien sipped experimentally at the chocolate martini. “Good?” he hummed.

“Delicious!” Adrien trilled, taking another swallow.

“Careful,” Luka chuckled. “You may not taste it, but there _is_ vodka in there. Don’t drink it so fast.”

Adrien nodded, setting down the glass and turning to face Luka. “Thank you.”

Luka shrugged. “No worries.”

“I mean…” Adrien bit his lip. “For being so nice to me. Today is seriously kicking my butt, and I’m super out of it. I’m not myself, so…I really appreciate you sitting with me and telling me it’s okay I’m a mess right now and being so kind. I really needed you…I just didn’t know it. Thank you. For all of this.”

A slow blush climbed up Luka’s throat and spread across his cheeks. “My pleasure,” he assured a little too honestly.

Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupain-Cheng had been the two biggest “what if”s of Luka’s life. He hadn’t quite ever been able to get them out of his head no matter how many other people he dated or how many months passed between seeing either of them.

Adrien smiled at him, and Luka was a goner.

“…Want to try a sip?” Luka held out the whiskey glass.

“Sure.” Adrien took it carefully and hesitantly sipped at the amber liquid. His nose scrunched up in distaste as soon as the whiskey passed his lips. He handed back the glass, sticking his tongue out at Luka as Luka chuckled.

“Sorry,” Luka snickered. “Your face is adorable.”

Adrien coughed, kicking Luka’s foot gently.

“You okay?” Luka patted Adrien on the back.

Adrien was about to make a sarcastic remark when he saw that Luka’s cyan eyes were filled with earnest concern. He smiled sheepishly. “Y-Yeah. I’m fine. No worries. Just no good with alcohol, I guess.”

“I take it you don’t like whiskey,” Luka chuckled, sitting up a little straighter and taking a sip of his drink.

Adrien shook his head, going back to his chocolate martini. “It’s okay. I mean, kind of sweet and maple-y but too astringent for my taste. It definitely tastes like alcohol, whereas this,” He lifted his martini. “tastes like dessert, and I know which one I prefer.”

“Fair enough,” Luka conceded. “Rose is like that too. Juleka can go both ways, but I find it disconcerting when I know there’s alcohol in something but can’t taste it.”

“To each their own.” Adrien shrugged. “…Hey, so…I only caught the tail end of your performance, but you guys were amazing. I really enjoyed your Danse Macabre cover.”

Luka beamed. “Thank you very much. I’m glad you liked it. I’ll have to tell the others, and maybe they’ll let me do more metal arrangements of classical pieces. We’ve done the third movement of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata before, but I’ve been wanting to do something from Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony, so…”

“Wait.” Adrien blinked owlishly. “ _You_ did that arrangement?”

Luka nodded.

“That’s incredible,” Adrien breathed, staring at the older teen in admiration.

Luka could feel his body starting to heat up. He wasn’t drunk enough to deal with Adrien looking at him like that. “Thank you. I’m just glad there was someone here who could truly appreciate it. I don’t think most people have heard the original or even knew we were doing a cover. Josie and Jacob—my bandmates—had never heard of Danse Macabre before.”

“Seriously?” Adrien’s angelic face contorted into an expression of abject horror. “I guess my understanding of what everyone else listens to is kind of skewed, since I come from a musical family, but…Danse Macabre is one of my favourites. I used to do a piano and violin version with my…”

Brother Félix whom I haven’t seen in eight years since he left home and my parents disowned him.

“…friend,” Adrien edited. “I used to have a friend who played the violin. He played competitively, and I’d accompany him on piano sometimes when he was practicing. My father said I wasn’t good enough to do the concours with him, but I was allowed to play with him when he was practicing when his real accompanist couldn’t be there, so…we liked to play Danse Macabre together. The first movement of Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata too.”

“The Kreutzer would be a fun one to do a cover of.” Luka nodded appreciatively at the idea. “You two don’t play together anymore?”

Adrien shook his head sadly. “He moved away. We lost touch.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Luka replied, and Adrien was pleased to find that, rather than being the usual empty platitude, Luka actually _was_ sorry.

“Thanks,” Adrien returned softly. “I miss him.”

“Maybe you could try to reconnect,” Luka suggested. “I’m sure you could hire someone to track down his address and phone number.”

Adrien shrugged reluctantly. He had the address, and he spoke with his sister-in-law weekly, but Félix had made it clear that he didn’t think he had any right to talk to his brother again after quote-unquote “abandoning” Adrien. “I don’t know that we’d have anything in common anymore. It’s been eight years.”

“You’ll always have music, even if he doesn’t play anymore,” Luka protested. “Once a musician, always a musician, and music is a universal language. Whole friendships can be carried out through music without either party having to exchange a word.”

Adrien chuckled softly. “You’re pretty convincing.”

“I believe in what I’m selling,” Luka assured with a wink.

“You really love music, don’t you?” Adrien sighed wistfully.

“It’s my life,” Luka responded passionately but then registered Adrien’s tone. “…You said that as if you don’t.”

Adrien shrugged and downed the rest of his martini, chocolate sauce smudging on his upper lip. “Sometimes I love music. When I’m at the opera or ballet or theatre. When I get to go to a concert or when I listen on my phone. When I’m fooling around on the piano, playing what I _want_ to play. When I’m singing in my room where no one can hear me. …A lot of the time I love music,” Adrien revised. “But not all the time.”

“When _don’t_ you love music?” Luka wondered softly.

Adrien set down his empty glass and sighed ruefully. “When my father locks me in my room and forces me to practice the same song again and again until I can play it perfectly just because I was so afraid to screw up when I played it in front of him that I screwed up a note or two. When my father starts harping at me with his, ‘Those are sixteenth notes, Adrien. It’s not up to you to interpret the piece. Play it how the composer wrote it’,” Adrien added quietly. “I don’t love music when music is a punishment.”

“I don’t think I like your father,” Luka snorted, trying to contain his outrage.

“Most people don’t,” Adrien laughed sadly.

“Music should never be a punishment,” Luka continued in a cold fury. “Music is the purest form of human expression. Music is how we unload our grief and our anger and our pain. It’s how we cope. Music is how we rejoice…. It’s the only adequate means we have of expressing how it feels to fall in love. Music allows us to fully experience our humanity,” Luka insisted, vehemently, voice slowly growing louder. “Turning music into a punishment is pure evil.”

Adrien let out a soft laugh, gently tapping Luka’s foot with his own. “No, you should definitely never meet my father. He’ll give you an aneurism.”

Luka snorted again.

“I wish I had even one ounce of your passion for something, though,” Adrien sighed wistfully. “The way you speak about music is _beautiful_ , Luka. I could listen to you forever. You give me goosebumps.”

Luka found his own skin prickling in a rather pleasant manner at the way Adrien purred the word.

And then Luka’s gaze got stuck on Adrien’s lips.

Heart hammering in his ears, Luka slowly reached out, cupping Adrien’s cheek.

Green eyes searched blue innocently, unsuspecting, as Luka ran his thumb carefully over Adrien’s upper lip.

Adrien opened his mouth to inquire curiously, and Luka drew back.

“You had a bit of chocolate on your lip,” Luka explained thickly, licking the sauce off of his thumb.

Adrien laughed, amused. “You could have just told me.” He rolled his eyes, kicking Luka’s foot again playfully.

“More fun this way,” Luka snickered. “Let me get you another drink?”

Adrien shrugged, beginning to truly relax as he started to feel the alcohol carrying out its work in his bloodstream. “Sure.”

“Same thing or something else?”

“Something else,” Adrien decided. “I mean, who knows when I’ll next get something besides dinner party wine. I might was well take the opportunity to try new things.”

“I need to have you over,” Luka hummed. “The Liberty has a fully-stocked bar, and I’ve gotten pretty good at mixing drinks.”

“Oh yeah?” Adrien chuckled, an impish grin playing on his lips. “You’ll have to show me.”

“Gladly, but it’ll be the same rules for you as it is for Juleka and Rose. There’s a one-drink limit,” Luka informed.

“Your mom has rules on her ship?” Adrien asked in honest surprise.

Luka shook his head. “That’s _my_ rule, not hers. I don’t get minors drunk.”

“So you’re just making an exception for me tonight?” Adrien wondered, chewing at his bottom lip.

Luka nodded. “Because you’re having ‘the matriarch of bad days’, I’m giving you a free pass. In the future, if you want to try different drinks, you can come over, but it’s not going to be some drunken saturnalia.”

“So what you’re saying is that if I want to go wild, tonight’s my only chance?” Adrien tittered, stealing Luka’s drink with a beatific smile.

Luka snickered as Adrien took another sip and winced.

“Still not a fan,” Adrien announced, handing the glass back.

Luka shook his head. “He thinks he’s so cute.”

Adrien’s lips curled up in a smirk. “I _know_ I’m cute. They pay me because I’m cute. _Everyone_ thinks I’m cute.”

Luka rolled his eyes.

“… _You_ think I’m cute,” Adrien pouted.

The pout dissipated as Luka’s cheeks began to turn pink.

Adrien smiled. “You’d really want to have me over? You’ve kind of run into me at my worst. Do you still actually want to hang out with me?”

Luka looked him straight in the eye. “I do. I’d be glad of the opportunity to get to know you better. You’re interesting, Adrien.”

Adrien self-consciously rubbed at the back of his neck. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Luka assured. “I’ve thought so from the moment we met.”

Adrien let out a short burst of laughter. “You mean when I gracefully faceplanted into the deck of your ship and you helped me back up?”

Luka shook his head. “When you saw that old keyboard and your eyes lit up and the rest of the world ceased to exist as you admired that instrument. From that moment, I knew you were someone I wanted in my life. I underestimated how difficult it would be to get close to you what with your strict father and busy schedule, but I’ve always thought the two of us would get along well. If you ever have time, you should come over, and we can play together. I’m sure it won’t be the same as with your violinist friend, but I’m sure we could have plenty of fun making music together.”

Adrien hummed appreciatively at the earnestness in Luka’s eyes. “I’d like that. I’m so used to playing by myself. I’ve always wanted to try a collaboration. I’d _love_ to play with you.”

“We’ll have to set something up.” Luka nodded, already beginning to look forward to it.

“But first, you have to finish getting me drunk,” Adrien reminded. “You were about to buy me another drink?”

“Sure,” Luka chuckled, smiling fondly at the younger teen. “Do you like iced coffee?”

Adrien nodded.

“Ice cream?”

Adrien nodded more enthusiastically.

“You’re such a kid,” Luka laughed as he turned to the bartender. “Raoul? Could we get a White Russian, but, instead of ice, could you use ice cream?”

Raoul nodded and chuckled, “Dollface got a sweet tooth?”

“Dollface is a poor, deprived model forced to comply with unrealistic industry standards concerning the perfect male body,” Adrien pretended to pout. “Have pity.”

“You’re making me want to give you a second scoop of ice cream,” Raoul sighed. “White Russian with ice cream coming right up.”

Adrien smirked triumphantly and turned back to Luka. “And I’m not a kid.”

“You’re such a kid,” Luka repeated with a grin.

“I’m a teenage heart-throb,” Adrien sniffed indignantly. “I get paid to take my clothes off. I’m not a kid.”

Luka shook his head. “I meant it more along the lines that despite life being unkind to you, you still have that child-like sense of wonder and excitement about you. The world hasn’t chewed you up and spit you out yet. I like that about you. It’s adorable. Stay like that as long as you can.”

Adrien studied Luka pensively. “Do you feel like the world has already had its way with you?”

Luka shrugged, sipping at his whiskey. “I had to grow up fast. When my father walked out on us, my mom and Juleka had a really hard time, so I had to step up and take care of us all. I don’t resent it. I love my family more than anything…but you don’t come away from something like that unscathed. I still have a hard time remembering to take care of myself sometimes because I’m so focused on making sure everyone else is okay.”

Adrien nodded. “My friend Nino is like that…. How old were you?”

“Ten, eleven,” Luka sighed into his glass.

“…Sorry,” Adrien mumbled.

Luka shook his head, hesitantly touching his foot to Adrien’s. “I get the feeling you’ve been through worse than I have.”

“Comparing scars is difficult and subjective at best. Let’s just agree not to,” Adrien proposed. “I mean, we can talk about it without comparing, right?”

A slow smile came to Luka’s lips. “Right.”

Just then, Raoul set Adrien’s White Russian down in front of him. Raoul turned to Luka. “Should I pour you another?”

Luka shook his head. “I’m just having the one drink tonight. I need to keep my wits about me so that he doesn’t have to.” He indicated Adrien with a tip of his head.

Raoul nodded his approval. “Have a nice night, then, you two.”

“Thanks!” Adrien replied enthusiastically, lifting his glass to Raoul.

Luka turned back to Adrien with a smirk. “A toast,” he announced, “to your perfect male body that somehow manages to meet unrealistic industry standards.”

Adrien cracked up as he clinked his glass against Luka’s. “If you’re trying to butter me up, it’s working. Flattery will get you practically everywhere with me.”

“Oh?” Luka hummed. “Good to know.”

Adrien nodded, sipping happily at his drink. “Nino says I’m severely malnourished when it comes to affection. It’s made me a bit of an attention whore, so whenever someone’s nice to me—like you—I pretty much melt. Because of tonight, I’ll be your devoted friend always. I’m pathetic, aren’t I?” Adrien laughed, but it was the kind of laugh where something really hurts you so you try to make other people laugh at it too so that they don’t know how much it bothers you.

Luka tentatively reached out to stroke Adrien’s hair, his face, and down the side of his neck. “You’re brave,” he revised. “You’re doing your best.”

“Not…pathetic?” Adrien gulped as Luka’s thumb skimmed down his neck.

Luka shook his head. “No one can really understand everything you’ve been through. No one can truly know what it’s like to fight the battles you fight every day. No one has the right to judge you, Adrien.”

“Oh,” Adrien breathed, feeling his heart beat in his throat. He wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or Luka’s kindness making him feel lightheaded.

He cleared his throat, trying to get his heart to go back down into his chest. “Sorry. At home…father’s very stern. He believes in discipline, so…people aren’t nice to me very often. I mean, people are polite, but…not genuinely nice. People say nice things when they want something from me, but they don’t actually mean them. I’m not used to this.” He took a large swallow of his drink, hoping the additional alcohol would help calm this sudden onslaught of nerves at having to deal with such a new and confusing situation.

Luka gave Adrien’s shoulder a pat before slowly withdrawing his hand. “We definitely need to hang out together more. I’d be happy to inoculate you to genuine kindness.”

“Are you this nice to everyone?” Adrien wondered, savoring the taste of ice cream and coffee coating his tongue.

Luka shook his head. “You trigger my protective-big-brother instincts. It’s hard to leave you alone when my neural circuitry is telling me to look out for you.”

Adrien nodded, unfortunately familiar with involuntary responses due to his Chat Noir instincts.

“It’s left over from when I had to take care of my mom and sister. I can’t help but fuss over others and make sure they’re okay. Plus, I’m sincerely fond of you,” Luka dared to add. “Like I said, I knew when I first met you that you were someone I wanted to know. You’re a likeable person. It’s easy to be nice to you.”

Adrien hummed, considering Luka’s words as he quickly finished his drink. “I think you’re just a good, loving person,” Adrien decided, turning to grin at his companion. “You’re caring, and you have a good heart.”

Luka gulped as he noticed the thin residue of ice cream along Adrien’s upper lip. He was tempted to lean in and kiss it off, but he knew that would only ruin the moment. Instead, he picked up a napkin and carefully wiped at Adrien’s mouth.

“You’re sweet, you know that?” Luka whispered huskily. “Hey. Earlier, you said something about dancing with wild abandon. Would that still be something you’re interested in?”

Adrien bit his lip. “With you?”

Luka shrugged, looking away. “Sure, if you want, but not necessarily. I’ll go too just to chaperon, make sure the alcohol doesn’t catch up with you all of the sudden and cause problems, but there are plenty of girls out there.”

Adrien looked out at the dance floor and then back at his companion. He got up from his barstool and held out a hand to Luka. “May I have the honor of this dance?”

Luka blinked, looking back and forth between Adrien’s hand and the breathtaking smile on the model’s face. His heart fluttered, and his stomach began working itself into knots.

There was no denying, no resisting that puckish grin and those peridot eyes.

Luka gulped and placed his hand into Adrien’s, realizing that, if he really wanted to, this boy could bring Luka to his knees.

Part of Luka wanted Adrien to want to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, standard disclaimer: Mikau does not drink. Mikau has no first-hand knowledge of alcohol, so this is all research and guesswork. I do not know what it feels like to be drunk, so I'm basing this on my experiences of having low blood sugar and hoping that's close enough. The legal drinking age in France is now eighteen for all alcohol types. It used to be sixteen about ten years ago for certain types of alcohol...in case you were curious. ^.^ I actually did quite a bit of poking around on the internet trying to find drinks that Adrien might enjoy. It's kind of hard to describe things you've never tasted yourself, so I asked a lot of people what they thought of whiskey. ^.^; (Mikau takes research too seriously.)
> 
> Did you like it? Did you have a favourite part or a favourite line? How did you like my Luka? Adrien is a bit off in this, but I think it's in character for him to be out of character when he's in such bad headspace.
> 
> If you like, this can be taken as in the same universe as There's a Daisy. Obviously, this takes place two years before Daisy, but...
> 
> Thank you so much for reading guys, and thank you in advance for your comments, kudos, and bookmarks. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I'll see you soon! Until then, you can come be my friend on Tumblr: https://mikauzoran.tumblr.com/
> 
> References:  
> Danse Macabre Metal Cover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG--MK7VD-c  
> Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata Third Movement Metal Cover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6psz_tJSEE


	2. ...play on;

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is a flirty drunk. Luka's self-control is put to the test. Adrien lets his guard down and allows himself to be honest. Luka is there to catch him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome back! Thanks for joining me for another chapter, and thank you so much to all of you who left comments and kudos and bookmarked the story! 
> 
> This is actually turning out to be longer than anticipated, so there’s going to be a third chapter. There can’t be a fourth chapter because the quote from Twelfth Night that I’m using as chapter titles shifts in tone after “give me excess of it” and doesn’t really work with the story. Whoops. So I guess I’ll have to wrap it up in Chapter Three. Until then, please enjoy Chapter Two!

Suddenly, everything was hilarious.

Adrien felt giddy and energetic like the first time he put on the suit and felt the magic surge through him. His body was tingling at the brush of the other dancers’ skin, the heat of so many bodies on a crowded dancefloor. 

Luka’s hands left electricity in their wake even as they endeavored to remain within safe territory. 

Adrien wanted more.

The pulse of the club beat syncing up with Adrien’s heart and the haze of alcohol in his blood left Adrien in a blissful trance.

He could almost forget that his mother hadn’t cared enough to take him with her…that she had wanted to get away from Adrien too. It almost didn’t matter that his father couldn’t be bothered with him, that Gabriel hadn’t wanted Adrien either and now regretted being stuck with a kid. Adrien could almost shake off the fact that Ladybug had finally told him not to ask her again, shutting the figurative door in his face.

Who cared if they didn’t love him? What did it matter that all of Paris worshipped some perfect fantasy fraud who wore Adrien’s face? None of those problems existed in that moment as Adrien gyrated on the dancefloor, warmed by the dozens of bodies around him. Real life was like a dream, far, far away and of no matter.

Heat, friction, instinct, impulses. Desire and whims without much thought for consequences. His entire being screamed for more—more of anything; more of _everything_ —to drown out the things that hurt, to take the sharp edges off reality. Escape was sweet, and, in that moment, it didn’t matter that it was fleeting. That was tomorrow’s problem. For now, Adrien was content to lose himself in hedonistic euphoria and the surrounding world of physical sensations.

The only problem was that his sense of balance was off. The world was kind of spinning a bit. Thankfully, when Adrien stumbled, two strong but gentle arms caught him, hands planting on his hips to steady him.

Adrien’s own arms snaked around Luka’s neck as he relaxed into the hold, letting Luka help support him. “Sorry,” Adrien chuckled. “Thank you. I think I might be a little drunk.”

“Yeah, I think so,” Luka sighed fondly through gritted teeth.

The last half hour had been satanically choreographed torture with Adrien pressed against him, unknowingly teasing, stoking the flames of Luka’s longing with no hope of satisfaction. It had taken a tremendous amount of willpower to fight the temptation.

A thought occurred to Adrien as he absentmindedly twined his fingers through Luka’s hair. “A lot of people are obnoxious when they’re drunk. Am _I_ obnoxious?”

Luka shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Good,” Adrien sighed in relief. “I wouldn’t want to make you not like me.”

“That would be a hard job,” Luka hummed, fingers unconsciously tightening on Adrien’s hips. “You’re still cute, even when you’re drunk silly.”

Adrien snickered softly, a hand trailing along Luka’s jaw to tap the older teen on the nose.

Luka’s voice caught in his throat as Adrien cupped his cheek.

“I told you you thought I was cute,” Adrien teased, a self-satisfied smirk slithering across his lips.

Adrien’s thumb started to run along Luka’s cheekbone.

Luka gulped, feeling utterly helpless as Adrien stared intently into Luka’s eyes. It was a scene lifted directly out of a fantasy.

“What a beautiful color,” Adrien whispered, leaning in for a closer look.

Luka began to debate how bad a person he would be if he didn’t stop Adrien from kissing him. That wouldn’t be Luka’s fault, right? At least, not so long as Luka didn’t initiate the kiss himself.

But then he considered, _“Would I let Adrien kiss literally anyone else while drunk, or am I just making exceptions because it’s me?”_ When the answer came back as “hell no”, Luka knew he had a responsibility to keep any kind of lip contact from happening…unfortunately.

This knowledge did not make it any easier to pull away as Adrien purred, “You have really beautiful eyes. I’m a sucker for blue eyes.”

“Your eyes are nice too,” Luka replied conversationally as he began to guide Adrien off the dancefloor and back over to the bar. “I wrote a song about them not long after we met.”

Adrien perked up like a small dog. “Really?”

“Mmhm.” Luka had written several songs about Adrien and his many fine attributes. “I’ll play it for you sometime.”

“I don’t think anyone’s written a song about me before,” Adrien laughed happily, wrapping his arm around Luka’s waist and leaning on the older teen as they walked.

“You might be surprised.” Luka’s whole body felt hot at the contact. “You’re quite the muse.”

“Muse.” Adrien weighed the word on his tongue. “I like that. It sounds capricious.” He slurred the last words slightly.

“Muses usually are,” Luka sighed. “You wouldn’t be the first.”

Adrien looked up at Luka with a frown, trying to decide if he was being insulted or flirted with. He hadn’t made a determination when a far more pressing matter occurred to him. “Where are we going?”

“To sit down so you can drink some water and sober up a bit.”

Adrien planted his feet. “I don’t want to get sober. I like being drunk.”

Luka pursed his lips. “All right. You don’t have to get sober, but you should come sit down and drink some water so you don’t get dehydrated.”

Adrien considered this line of reasoning and found no fault with it. “All right.” He followed Luka over to their barstools unsteadily and took a seat.

He frowned at his companion. “You’re sure I’m not annoying?”

“Adrien, you’re fine,” Luka stressed. “Rose is an annoying drunk. My mother is an annoying drunk. I’ve had significant others who have been annoying drunks. You are mildly exasperating in an endearing way. _You_ are fine.”

Adrien nodded, latching on to the “endearing” part and ignoring “exasperating”.

“I just don’t want to make you not like me because I was really happy earlier when you said you wanted to be my friend and that you wanted to have me over so we could play music together. I don’t want you to change your mind.”

Adrien’s dewy green eyes pierced Luka’s heart with their too-honest insecurity.

Luka felt like he was seeing something he had no right to, like he’d tricked Adrien into showing him his vulnerabilities…and, yet, Adrien had seemed willing to share even before he’d started drinking.

Still…

“I’m not going to change my mind, Adrien,” Luka did his best to assure.

Adrien looked away and nodded. “It’s just that people aren’t usually nice to me for real. Usually, I can tell when someone is being fake nice, but I’ve been tricked a couple of times before, and it’s really hurt. I thought someone was being nice for real, but then, when they thought I couldn’t hear them, they said some really mean things about me to someone else. I’ve overheard people talking behind my back a lot.” Adrien glanced up and added by way of explanation, “I have really good hearing.”

Luka’s mouth dropped open. He couldn’t come up with anything suitable to say. “I’m sorry that happened to you” seemed like a woefully inadequate response.

Adrien’s eyes widened. “Not that I think that’s what you’re doing! I know you’re actually nice for real. I know you would never do something like that. I mean, it’s not like we’re close, but you’ve always been really awesome when we’ve talked before, and Marinette is always saying how wonderful you are—”

Luka’s heart did a somersault. _“She does?”_

“—and Marinette is an excellent judge of character. She would never be friends with someone who wasn’t a good person,” Adrien insisted, a bit of a dreamy expression coming over his face as he continued, “Marinette is amazing.”

Luka could not argue.

“And so are you!” Adrien rushed to get back on track. “That’s why I think that maybe you would be nice to me and pretend like you wanted to be my friend even if you didn’t. Because you’re a kind person. I don’t know. I was thinking maybe you pity me. I know you’re not like other people who just want to sleep with me or use me for my money or fame.”

The bar went absolutely frigid as Luka tried to wrap his head around anyone using this sweet, naïve kid.

“But I was thinking maybe you felt sorry for me,” Adrien finished lamely. “Sorry. I’m rambling. As we’ve already established, I’m sort of drunk, and I’m about a decade behind my peers as far as picking up on social cues and behaving normally in casual social settings. I shouldn’t have said any—”

“—Adrien,” Luka called.

Adrien met Luka’s gaze with apprehension clearly written on his face.

“I like you,” Luka informed simply.

Adrien blinked, waiting for more, expecting a “but”. When it didn’t come, he grinned brightly, his entire being awash in relief and joy.

Luka smiled softly, fond and yet a touch sad. It shouldn’t have been so easy to make Adrien _that_ happy…and yet it was.

“I like you too,” Adrien replied giddily.

Luka ruffled Adrien’s hair and turned to get the bartender’s attention to order them something to drink. He’d gotten as far as, “Hey, Raoul,” when the large man set down two glasses of water in front of them.

“Oh. Thanks,” Luka chuckled.

“Thank you, Raoul,” Adrien chimed in, picking up his glass and drinking eagerly.

“How’s Dollface doing?” Raoul inquired, arching an eyebrow at the blonde.

“Dollface is drunk,” Adrien answered cheerfully.

Raoul shook his head. “I even made your drinks weak. You really are a lightweight, aren’t you?”

“To be fair,” Adrien slurred slightly. “Most of this is probably the placebo effect. I’m probably not that drunk, but I think I am, so I’m acting like I am…. Just don’t tell _me_ that, otherwise I might stop feeling drunk, and I don’t want to be sober today.”

Raoul nodded. “Sound logic. Is Bluebell behaving himself?” He tossed his head at Luka. “He hasn’t seduced you yet, has he?”

“Other way around,” Luka muttered under his breath.

Adrien smirked proudly.

Luka frowned. Adrien shouldn’t have been able to hear him over the din of the other bar patrons. Luka absentmindedly wondered how good Adrien’s “good hearing” was.

“Luka’s been a perfect gentleman,” Adrien assured, “but no worries; I’ll have him wrapped around my finger by the end of the night.” With a confident air, he took another drink of his water.

“Oh-ho!” Raoul laughed, a full and deep rumble in his chest. “I think I got it backwards. I should have told _you_ to watch out for _him_ , Bluebell.” He elbowed Luka.

Luka shot the bartender a sullen look and mouthed, “Too late”.

Raoul just laughed, shaking his head as he went back to work.

Adrien turned to Luka uncertainly, his anxiety back. “I’m not making you uncomfortable, am I? I’m sorry. I’m a compulsive flirt; I just normally have a filter between my brain and my mouth that keeps me from inappropriately hitting on people most of the time. I guess it stops working when I drink alcohol. If I’m making things weird, please just tell me to stop.”

Luka shook his head, ruffling Adrien’s hair once more, as it seemed to comfort the younger boy. “Adrien, you’re perfect. Don’t worry about it.”

“Purr-fect,” Adrien chuckled, a feline smirk settling onto his lips. “I don’t know about that.”

Luka snickered into his water glass, raising an eyebrow. “Is that my cue to shower you with compliments?”

Adrien rolled his eyes. “I get enough of those as is. I don’t need to fish for them. I just have to stand around looking pretty, and they come unbidden.”

Luka nodded in comprehension. “But they just bounce right off of you because you don’t think people are being sincere.”

Adrien didn’t respond.

“How about I trade you?” Luka proposed. “One sincere compliment for one sincere compliment.”

Adrien bit his lip. “…Okay. You first or me?” He cast Luka a sidelong glance.

“I’ll go first,” Luka offered. “Your smile is beautiful.”

Adrien opened his mouth to reply, but Luka wasn’t done.

“—Not the one you’re always wearing. Not the polite one. Not the one you feel obligated to show your fans. Not the ones you’ve curated over the years for modeling. The _real_ one,” Luka emphasized. “The smile that lights up your eyes and makes them shine like fireflies. The one that catches even you by surprise. It starts as a crinkle in the corner of your mouth and radiates out over your whole face like a resounding G major chord. _That_ smile is breathtaking.”

Adrien closed his mouth to consider his response. After a moment or so had passed, he found his voice. “I bet you write love songs that make your girlfriends melt. How am I supposed to match such a prettily-phrased compliment like that? I can’t think of anything even half as nice to say to you.”

Luka shrugged. “You don’t have to match my purple prose. Besides, you already told me I have beautiful eyes. Now we’re even.”

Adrien frowned. “Did I say that?”

Luka nodded.

“Out loud?” A blush of embarrassment began to flare on Adrien’s cheeks.

Luka nodded again. “Sorry. Afraid so. If it makes you feel any better, I was flattered.”

Adrien took a deep breath and blew it out. “I’m starting to feel less drunk. Do you think Raoul could be persuaded to give me one more drink?”

“I don’t think so, Adrien.”

Adrien frowned, brow furrowing and lips pursing as he considered his options. An idea occurred to him, and he spun on his barstool to face Luka. “If I can’t persuade Raoul, maybe I can purr-suade you,” Adrien hummed, running a hand up Luka’s neck to come to a rest cupping his cheek. “You said I could come over to your house sometime and you’d mix me a drink, didn’t you? You should take me home with you.”

Mentally, Luka began to curse. He _knew_ Adrien didn’t mean it that way, but…Luka was only human, and he’d been harboring a crush on this super cute, smart, talented, handsome guy for two years. Clearly the universe was bent on torturing him.

He took a deep breath, savored the feel of Adrien’s hand on his cheek, the coy expression on Adrien’s face, and the reached up to gently break Adrien’s hold. He pulled the hand away and deposited an unhurried kiss on the back of it before letting go.

“Tempting as your proposition is, I only go home with guys I’m in a stable relationship of the long-term variety with. If you want to come home with me, you’ll need to buy me dinner for a couple months first,” Luka informed, balancing his honest answer with a lighthearted, joking tone.

Adrien stuck out his lip in a pout. “Unfortunately, I don’t think I have that kind of time, as I’m probably going to be sober within the hour.”

Luka shrugged. “Sorry. I try not to be loose with my affections.”

“That’s probably something I should work on,” Adrien sighed, spinning back around to face the bar. “I said it before, but I really am an affection whore. I’d probably sleep with someone to get them to like me. I already let pretty much anyone hang all over me and manhandle me if they want. I don’t really have any qualms about kissing whomever for photoshoots and acting gigs…. I guess I’ve just kind of internalized the belief that my body is public property, so…”

With a sigh, Luka wiped away the tear slowly trailing down Adrien’s cheek. “We need to work on your self-esteem.”

Adrien rubbed at the other cheek himself and turned back to face Luka once more. “Can we go for a walk or something? Suddenly, I’m thinking I really need to not be drunk so that I don’t keep spewing all this embarrassing, personal stuff and making a fool of myself in front of you. Because, I mean, you’re really cool, and I want you to think that _I’m_ cool—because I _can_ be cool sometimes—but I’m afraid that I’m just coming across as a pathetic, whiney slut.”

Luka tried to smile reassuringly, but it came out as more of a grimace. “Don’t worry about it so much,” he insisted. “You get a free pass for tonight. You said this is you at your worst? Well, I’ve seen you look cool too, Adrien.”

Adrien inhaled sharply, wondering how Luka had figured out he was Chat Noir. That was the only time Adrien could think of that he’d been cool in Luka’s presence.

“When you play piano,” Luka began to list. “When you stood up to Chloé when she was picking on Rose and Juleka. Last year when a bunch of us were at the park and the akuma came and you made sure everyone got to safety. You dove to push Alix out of the way, and you scooped up that little girl and got her back to her dad,” Luka elaborated. “I’ve seen you be really cool, Adrien. One night of seeing you be a mess isn’t going to erase all that.”

Adrien just stared at his companion in wonder. He hadn’t thought that just plain Adrien could be cool. Adrien was a sheltered, awkward dork who was never one hundred percent certain what he was meant to do and say. Chat Noir was the slick superhero with the silver tongue. That Luka could see the good in boring, nerdy Adrien was…surprising…nice.

“Thank you,” Adrien finally thought to reply. “…How do you always know just what to say?”

Luka shrugged. “I’m just good at reading people. I’m a bit of an empath. I still get thrown for a loop sometimes, but your emotions are pretty strong and clear. You feel things really intensely, even if you put on a smile and pretend that you’re unaffected.”

Adrien blinked. “Seriously? How did…? How do…? Seriously?”

“I’ve always been like this. It’s not something I can describe, really. It just happens on its own without me having to think about it.” Luka shrugged once more, an easy smile coming to his lips as he got to his feet. “You said you wanted to go for a walk?” He held out a hand to help steady Adrien in case the other boy was still off balance.

Adrien considered the hand for a moment before reaching out and taking it.

Luka pocketed his phone after arranging for Jacob to hang onto his guitar and equipment overnight. He gave Adrien an easy smile. “So, which way?”

Adrien shrugged. “Let’s just walk along the Seine. Where is the Liberty docked?”

“This way. Down past the Eiffel Tower near the Pont de Grenelle and the Statue of Liberty.”

“Fitting,” Adrien hummed.

Luka nodded. “My mom likes it.”

Adrien bit his lip, looking sideways up at Luka as they began to walk lazily. “Have you ever been to New York?”

Luka shook his head. “What’s the big one like?”

“Not as big as I thought it’d be,” Adrien confessed. “The museum was fascinating, though. I really liked the audio tour.”

“Do people recognize you in New York?” Luka wondered.

“Not like they do here where my face is on everything, but the security detail tips them off that I’m at least somebody. A fair amount recognize me, even if they don’t know my name. The ones that _do_ are almost worse than my fans here because…I don’t know. Something about being French automatically makes you exotic and sexy. I feel like more of a zoo animal than usual with people staring and whispering, ‘Who’s that? A movie star? Oh! He’s French!’”

Luka winced, putting a hand out to steady Adrien as he wobbled. “That…sounds awful. It makes me feel glad to be a nobody for once.”

Adrien snorted. “Oh, you’ll get your turn when one of your bands takes off. Then we can suffer together.” 

“I can only hope,” Luka laughed.

“It’ll happen,” Adrien assured. “You’re _so_ talented, Luka.”

The earnest way Adrien said it made Luka’s heart soar and his cheeks flame.

Adrien didn’t notice as a thoughtful look came over his face. “It would be nice to have some company being miserably famous. Chloé lives for the attention, so I can’t really commiserate with her. I take comfort in the fact that Marinette is going to be a major player in the fashion industry any year now. Then she’ll be able to empathize with me.”

Adrien laughed, turning to grin mischievously. “Once you two hit it big, the three of us need to make a habit of going out together. It’ll drive the tabloids nuts trying to decide who’s dating whom. It’ll be excellent marketing.”

Luka almost tripped as thoughts of a threesome with Adrien and Marinette accosted him.

“You all right?” Adrien reflexively grabbed Luka’s arm to anchor him, green eyes filled with concern.

“P-Perfect,” Luka choked. “Uneven pavement is all.”

Adrien nodded, letting go of his hold.

Luka took a few seconds to stare as Adrien started to walk again, a couple paces ahead. “…Is there anything you like about being famous, or is it all inconveniences and invasion of privacy? I should probably know what I’m trying to get myself into.”

Adrien sighed, looking back over his shoulder. “Full disclosure? I hate it. I hate pretty much everything about being Adrien freaking Agreste, supermodel (registered trademark). Because that’s what I am. That’s what I have to be the moment I step out of my bedroom. I’m public property, a consumable object, a product, a brand. I’m not allowed to be a mess. I don’t get the luxury of screwing up. If I am anything less than perfect…” Adrien looked away, shaking his head and stuffing his hands in his pockets.

In two long strides, Luka caught up and placed a reassuring hand on Adrien’s shoulder.

Adrien leaned into the touch like a plant inclining towards the sun. He inched closer so that his path practically intersected with Luka’s as they walked side by side slowly.

Luka shifted his hand down so that it rested on Adrien’s hip, Luka’s arm around Adrien’s waist. “They don’t let you be a real person much, do they?”

Adrien shook his head.

“Sorry.”

Adrien shook his head again. “It’s okay.”

“No,” Luka sighed. “I’m sorry I asked. I didn’t know that…”

Adrien shrugged, tipping his head towards Luka. “How were you supposed to know without asking? …It actually feels kind of good to verbalize all that after having to keep it inside for so long. I don’t talk about stuff like this with my other friends. They don’t really get it because they have supportive, loving families and dreams for the future, and…I mean, I know they have problems of their own, but…my problems feel different. Unrelatable. I tried talking to Nino about stuff like this a year or so ago, and he just got really quiet and didn’t know what to say. He just looked worried and uncomfortable…so I’ve never tried to bring it up again.”

Adrien raised his head, emerald eyes piercing Luka and pinning him like a butterfly. “Am I making you uncomfortable?”

“Yes and no,” Luka confessed. “I mean, I feel bad, and I have no idea what to say to you other than a hollow-sounding, ‘I’m sorry. That really sucks’. I mean…what do you even say to that? But even though I do feel uncomfortable, I don’t want you to feel like you can’t say stuff like that. I can’t say that I know how you feel exactly, but I’ve had a similar experience.”

Adrien frowned. “You have?”

Luka nodded. “I made people uncomfortable when I talked about how stressful and scary it was to have to keep watch over someone I loved to make sure she didn’t try to kill herself. People didn’t know what to say to me when I’d talk about the pressure I was under to keep going and keep it together and not break because if I broke, everything would go to hell because I was the one keeping everything else from falling apart. People didn’t know what to say to me either, so I stopped talking about it too.”

Luka looked down at Adrien and smiled at the younger boy’s shocked, horrified expression. “Yeah. Dark times. It sucked.”

“I’m sorry,” Adrien muttered. “ _I_ don’t know what to say to you.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” Luka assured. “It’s over. I survived. The only reason I mentioned it was so that you would know you weren’t alone. We don’t have the same problems, so I can’t really relate to you on that level, but our problems are similar enough that I thought my sharing might make you feel a little better.”

“…Thank you,” Adrien whispered, a weight starting to lift off his chest. “You make me feel like less of a freak. I mean…none of my other friends seem to deal with anything like what I feel, so… I wasn’t exposed to other people my age besides Chloé until I was thirteen. At first, I used to constantly feel like an alien…I still do sometimes. It’s kind of nice to learn that at least one other person has experienced something like what I struggle with…so thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Luka gradually withdrew his hand from Adrien’s hip, patting Adrien on the back before going back to walking beside Adrien, his hands to himself. “I may not always know what to say, but I’m more than happy to listen to you, Adrien. I don’t know if that will help, but…”

“You can talk to me too,” Adrien offered. His confidence only lasted for a split second, and then he was backpedaling. “I mean, if you ever have anything you want to talk about. If you feel like it. You probably have people to talk to already, though, so don’t feel like you have to talk to me. I just—”

“—Thank you, Adrien,” Luka cut him off with the kindest, most reassuring smile he could manage. “Don’t be surprised if I take you up on your offer sometime, but, mostly, I’m stressed about the future nowadays, so it will probably just sound like I’m whining about trivial stuff that I shouldn’t be stressing about, but…” Luka gave a wide shrug. “And be prepared for frivolous relationship drama.”

“I refuse to believe _you_ have any relationship issues ever,” Adrien snorted, rolling his eyes. “What? Are you having trouble finding someone good enough for you?”

Luka laughed heartily at this, completely caught off guard. “Do I seem picky?”

“No!” Adrien exclaimed. “You seem freaking wonderful. You’re probably the perfect boyfriend. What I’m doubting is your ability to find a girl as wonderful as you are.”

By the grace of God, Luka somehow managed not to trip as the earnest praise caught him by surprise.

“You’re not dating anyone now, are you?” Adrien looked at Luka curiously.

Luka did not allow himself to hope. “No. Why?”

“You should date Marinette,” Adrien suggested enthusiastically. “You two would be the perfect couple! She’s just as awesome as you are. I bet you two would be great. What do you think? Do you want me to ask her?”

Luka was barely able to contain a full-body wince. He shook his head. “I would be interested in dating Marinette if she was interested, but I think she’s got her eye on someone else right now, Adrien. I wouldn’t mention it to her, if I were you.”

It would break Marinette’s heart coming from Adrien.

Adrien frowned, honest confusion on his face. “She does? Who? Someone I know?”

Luka shook his head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. She’s kind of sensitive about it. I’m sure she’ll tell if and when she’s ready.”

Adrien frowned harder but didn’t press. He fell back into step beside Luka silently, letting the lapping of the Seine below and the irregular passage of cars on the street above fill the lull in conversation.

“…I thought of one thing I don’t hate about being famous,” Adrien announced after a minute or two had passed.

“Oh?” Luka tipped his head to the side.

“Yeah. I like that people make exceptions for you.”

Luka’s brow crinkled. “How do you mean?”

Adrien bit his lip. “Like…say I wanted to go to a concert that was sold out. Provided my father would let me attend, I could probably get a ticket. It’s the same thing at restaurants. All I have to do is drop my name, and a restaurant that’s booked solid six months out suddenly has an open table for me. Sometimes being Adrien freaking Agreste, supermodel (registered trademark), is convenient…even though the special treatment doesn’t really break even with the trouble being famous causes.”

“Maybe it’ll get better as you get older,” Luka suggested. “Maybe you won’t be as obnoxiously famous after you retire from modeling and…and do whatever it is you want to do with your life.”

Adrien stopped walking and stared blankly at Luka. “Retire?”

Luka came to a halt with the sinking feeling that he’d stepped on another landmine. “Well…modeling isn’t the sort of thing that you can do full-time your entire life…is it?”

“I guess not,” Adrien hummed thoughtfully. He had never considered this before.

“And don’t you want to do something else with your life anyway?” Luka prompted. “What do you want to do as a career? I mean…I know you probably don’t _have_ to work, but…you don’t strike me as someone who wouldn’t work even though they didn’t strictly have to work for a living, so…what do you want to do in the future?”

Adrien sighed, shrugged, and went back to walking. “I’m going to take over my father’s company,” he answered resignedly.

Luka pursed his lips. “That’s…not the question I asked you. Judging from your tone, running a fashion empire isn’t something you’re enthused about. What do you _want_ to do? Earlier you said that you admired my passion for music and wished you felt that way about something too, but… _don’t_ you? There has to be something, Adrien. What do you love? Isn’t there something that gets you excited? What can you go on and on about? What can you talk about for hours?”

Adrien came to a stop once more to consider Luka’s words through the remaining fog of the alcohol he’d consumed.

“…Theatre,” Adrien replied softly, voice hesitant.

“Theatre,” Luka echoed. “Like stage plays?”

Adrien nodded. “My mother was a stage actress. She did one movie, but plays and musicals were what she loved more than anything, so practically my whole childhood was spent backstage. Well…the fun bits, anyway. When I didn’t have lessons and modeling. I got to do some acting too whenever something my mother was in needed a child. I made my debut when I was just a few months old…. I’ve really missed the theatre since she’s been gone. If I could do anything I wanted with my life, I think I’d want to act.”

Adrien looked back at Luka, the expression on his face almost seeming to ask if that were okay.

Luka nodded in approval. “What’s stopping you?”

Adrien laughed darkly. “My father. It’s okay for me to do some voice acting and walk on roles in films and TV shows, but I don’t dare bring up the stage. He won’t even go to the theatre with me on the rare occasions I’m allowed. I guess it hurts too much because it reminds him of her. It was _her_ thing, so it can’t be mine.”

Luka took an unsure step closer. “You should fight for it, if you decide this is something you really want.”

Adrien blinked uncomprehendingly. “How do you fight inevitability? I’m not like you, Luka. I don’t get to make my own choices. Someone else decides where I go and when and what I wear and what I eat. The only freedom I get is when I jump out my bedroom window, scale the wall around the fortress, and sneak out…and that’s only for a few hours out of my life where I pretend I have any say in what happens to me. There is no option to fight.”

With a defeated sigh, Adrien turned and headed for the stairs back up to street level.

Luka followed a few steps behind. “Maybe ‘fight’ wasn’t really the right word. I meant…”

Luka _had_ meant “fight”, but if that seemed impossible to Adrien…

“…advocate for yourself,” Luka amended.

Adrien paused at the top of the stairs and frowned down at his friend. “Advocate?”

Luka nodded. “Like…you could casually mention it to your dad. Maybe when you’re eating dinner you could just make the comment that you miss theatre and would be interested in acting again. See what he says.”

Adrien stared blankly. “When I’m eating dinner?”

Luka shrugged, moving past Adrien and hoping he would follow; Luka wasn’t sure that Adrien was sober enough to be standing at the top of those large, stone steps. “Or breakfast, if it’s easier first thing in the morning. I don’t know. Maybe when you two are sitting around watching TV or reading books or whatever you two do in your living room during down time. Whenever you guys are just talking and he seems like he’s in a good mood, try bringing it up. It can’t hurt anything to try if this is something you’re really interested in.”

Adrien continued to stare—confusion, hurt, envy, and embarrassment all swirling around in his expression as he tried to formulate a response.

Luka’s eyes narrowed as he picked up on Adrien’s distress. “What is it? Did I say something wrong?”

Adrien shook his head, stuffing his hands in his pockets and angling his face away as he started to power walk.

“Hey. What is it?” Luka trotted to keep up, reaching out and resting a hand on Adrien’s arm.

“Nothing. It’s nothing,” Adrien lied because he couldn’t figure out how to tell the truth.

“Adrien,” Luka called, internally panicking, trying to pinpoint the moment things had gone sideways.

“It’s nothing,” Adrien insisted, refusing to slow down. “…It…It’s just—God, you’re so lucky,” he spit venomously, shaking off Luka’s hold.

Luka slowed to a stop and frowned as Adrien retreated a few more paces before coming to a halt too.

“Sorry,” Adrien muttered. “It’s nothing,” he sniffled. “Sorry. Yeah. You’re right. I’ll just…I’ll just bring it up…tomorrow at dinner. The-The next time we’re…sitting around and talking. It’s a good idea. Thank you. I’m sorry I snapped at you.”

Luka tentatively moved forward and reached out to replace his hand on Adrien’s arm. “It’s okay. I’m sorry for whatever I said that upset you. …Do you want to talk about something else?”

Adrien broke away, going over to one of the small trees lining the sidewalk, growing out of a break in the pavement. He reached up and ran one of the leaves between his fingers.

Luka stayed where he was and waited patiently for Adrien to make the next move.

After nearly half a minute, Adrien finally spoke up. “Earlier…when I was talking about feeling like an item on a checklist and when I said that I was hoping that acting out would make my father do something about it personally like eat meals with me or play board games…you must have thought I was joking or exaggerating.”

Abruptly, the mild March night felt arctic.

Luka’s mouth dropped open, but he couldn’t think of anything to say.

“I wasn’t,” Adrien continued softly, picking one of the leaves off the tree and starting to tear it into fine strips. “The last time my father ate a meal with me was Christmas…and he got called away halfway through, so I ended up eating by myself anyway. We don’t watch television together. We don’t sit around and read in the same room in the evenings. We don’t _have_ a living room like other families. I have my room, and he has his atelier—which I either need an appointment or a really good reason to enter. We don’t have casual conversations. We don’t just…talk…unscheduled. Well, sometimes he’ll be standing at the top of the stairs when I come home to lecture me about something, but that’s not a dialogue; it’s a speech. There is no ‘just mentioning’ something to him.”

One by one, Adrien let the leaf fragments float down to the ground.

When he’d finished, he looked tentatively over his shoulder to see if Luka were still there. Adrien turned and shrugged, leaning back against the trunk of the tree and crossing his arms nonchalantly over his chest. He didn’t bother wiping away the slow procession of tears marching down his cheeks.

Luka cautiously advanced until he was close enough to stroke Adrien’s hair and face. “…I’m sorry, Angel.”

Adrien’s arms squeezed around himself tighter as he sniffled again and leaned into Luka’s touch. “…Today’s the anniversary of my mother’s disappearance. Or…I guess it was technically yesterday, since it’s past midnight, but…that’s part of why today sucked so much. Three years ago, she left him…she left _me_. No goodbye. No note. Nothing. She was just gone, and it hurt…as I’m sure you know.”

Luka nodded and kept petting Adrien’s face and hair. “Yeah.”

“So today I was already feeling pretty down, thinking about how it had been a month before my birthday and my mother decided she didn’t want to be my mother anymore, and so I went into my father’s atelier to see if maybe he could take a break from work and play Monopoly with me, maybe eat dinner together, but he snapped at me before I could even get half the words out,” Adrien choked, remembering the cold, clipped tone to his father’s voice.

Gabriel hadn’t even looked up from the computer screen as he’d responded, “Adrien, if you need something, please ask Nathalie or make an appointment. I’m too busy to deal with you right now.”

Normally Adrien would have meekly bowed out, but the rawness of his hurt made him try again. “I’m sorry. I know you’re gearing up for fashion week and the spring runway shows, but…can’t you spare just an hour? You have to eat anyway. If you don’t want to go sit down and eat in the dining room, I could call the kitchen and ask them to bring something in here. I could sit in here with you.”

“Adrien, you’re distracting me,” Gabriel replied flatly, a warning laced into the words.

“I could be quiet. I could sit and be quiet. I won’t disturb your work,” Adrien promised. “Please, can we eat together? I just don’t think I can sit in that dining room by myself tonight. Please, Father?”

Gabriel removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. He responded with a weary sigh. “Adrien, enough of your childishness. You’re old enough to eat meals by yourself and too old to be wanting to play silly board games. I’ve coddled you too much. It’s time for you to grow up.”

Adrien bit his tongue, keeping in at least a dozen things he wanted to say. Still, in his despair, something slipped out: “I’m lonely.”

Gabriel put his glasses back on and rolled his eyes, still focused on the computer screen. “I got you pets,” Gabriel countered in exasperation, as if a tank full of fish was an adequate substitute for parental affection and he couldn’t understand why Adrien was being so difficult.

Yes, Adrien had named the fish and talked to the fish and fussed over the fish, and he had bawled his eyes out when one of them had died, but that was not the point, and so he did not dignify his father’s argument with an answer.

“Do you even remember what today is?” Adrien muttered instead.

Gabriel finally looked up at his son, but it was to glare icily. “Don’t you dare take that tone with me, Young Man. …I have work to do, so go to your room.”

Adrien almost caved, but the frustration and the hurt won out. He was so, so tired of being pushed aside and ignored, suffering on his own when his father was _right there_.

“No.”

Gabriel’s glare morphed into a frown. “‘No’?” he repeated.

“I’m…I’m not going to my room,” Adrien pressed forward even as he mentally started to panic and second guess himself. “You can’t just send me away and pretend I don’t exist. I understand that this is a busy time of year for you, but I’m not making an unreasonable request. I won’t even bother you. I’ll just sit here and be quiet. I hardly ever ask you for anything, Father…. Today of all days, can’t you just—”

Gabriel had pressed the button to dial Nathalie, and she picked up, cutting Adrien off.

“Yes, Gabriel?”

“Nathalie, could you come to the atelier and get Adrien? I’m trying to get some work done, but he needs someone to keep him company,” Gabriel exhaled, exhausted and beginning to rub at the bridge of his nose again. “Could you please eat dinner with him and play cards with him or something?”

“I’ll be right there,” Nathalie assured, and Gabriel rang off.

“There,” Gabriel announced. “Nathalie will be along in just a minute. I trust this to be satisfactory?” He met Adrien’s gaze briefly before returning his eyes to the screen in front of him.

The resigned part of Adrien knew he should bow his head and thank his father for his magnanimous response to Adrien’s stepping out of line. The fed-up part of him screamed at Adrien to speak up.

Adrien opened his mouth and tentatively responded, “It’s not satisfactory.”

Gabriel looked up once more, deep trenches in his brow. He frowned as if he was convinced he had misheard. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

Adrien gulped but held his head high. “This isn’t good enough. This isn’t how this is supposed to work.”

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed in confusion.

“I’m not supposed to have to grovel and beg for you to spend time with me,” Adrien kept going, resentment building in his voice. “None of my friends have to do this to get their parents to acknowledge their existence. Real families eat meals together. Real families spend time together playing video games and watching movies and going to the zoo. I’m really tired of settling for this pathetic sham. I want a real father.”

Gabriel stared at his son for several seconds before breaking out into a sarcastic laugh. “You’re such a child, Adrien. You have no idea what the real world is like because I’ve protected you from it all these years. I’ve made life too easy for you. It’s no wonder you have no appreciation for how good you have it. Not all families are perfect, but that doesn’t make them any less real. All ‘family’ is is two or more people related by a common bond—marriage, blood, adoption, a significant experience…. You have no idea what your friends’ families are like behind closed doors. Chances are that they’re not as perfect as they appear.”

“I bet they’re still better than _this_ ,” Adrien scoffed quietly.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “I repeat: you have no conception of how good you have it, you ungrateful child. Things could be so much worse, Adrien. _My_ mother was a lush, and my father beat me within an inch of my life when he was in a bad mood. Now, I’m sorry that I don’t have time to shower you with the attention you crave, but with work and your mother gone, I’m doing the best that I can.”

“Nathalie’s the one who does all the work. You’re not even trying,” Adrien accused just as Nathalie herself pushed open the atelier door.

Gabriel shook his head, returning his attention to the computer screen. “One day you’ll understand. For now, I will overlook this childish outburst. Nathalie, please.”

Nathalie moved forward, taking Adrien by the shoulders and attempting to lead him away. “Come along, Adrien.”

“No,” Adrien insisted, standing his ground. “I’m not being childish. I’m not being unreasonable. Father, you’re not the only person who lost someone when Mother left. I feel like I lost both of my parents that day, and I can’t take it any longer. I’m not going to let you shut me out anymore. You’re going to have to deal with me.”

Gabriel didn’t look up as he sighed. “Adrien, not right now. Not today. I’m very busy with some important work. Please go with Nathalie.”

Nathalie made another attempt to guide Adrien away, whispering, “Please do as your father asks. Don’t do this today.”

Adrien stood still, staring at his father numbly as Gabriel got back to work, face impassive. “…Fine. I’ll go, but you’re going to be sorry,” Adrien announced softly, voice shaking as he turned on his heel and left the room.

Gabriel hadn’t looked up from the screen.

“We had a fight,” Adrien summarized as Luka continued to play with Adrien’s hair, tracing soothing, repetitive patterns. “I lost. It’s stupid. It’s all so stupid and trivial. I mean, my father was right. Sure, our relationship isn’t ideal, but it’s better than what some people have. I have a roof over my head and food on my plate, and he’s never hit me. I’m just…needy, I guess.”

“No,” Luka corrected. “Yearning for the love and affection of others is a human thing. You’re not ‘needy’; you just have basic needs that aren’t being met.”

“I still feel stupid, though,” Adrien muttered. “I feel like I should have things under better control. It’s just all cumulative neglect and rejection lately. I swear I’m normally better.”

“I believe you,” Luka gently assured, his thumb caressing the outer shell of Adrien’s ear.

“I’m not always falling apart at the seams,” Adrien laughed, hugging himself more tightly as the tears continued to flow, picking up their tempo. “I’m usually really composed and-and not pathetic.”

“Adrien,” Luka began, but Adrien cut him off.

“I know. I know you’re going to tell me that you don’t think I’m pathetic right now, but I _feel_ pathetic. I feel like such a huge loser, but…” Adrien averted his gaze. “I feel like I’m under attack from all sides right now. My mother left me. My father can’t be bothered to care. I know I can’t say ‘no one loves me’ because my friends are the most epic human beings I’ve ever met. Nino and Alya and Marinette make me feel…like I’m actually worth something. Precious. They make me feel cherished…but that kind of love isn’t enough right now. I want…”

Even in the dim light of the streetlamps, Luka could see Adrien’s cheeks turn carmine.

“…I was feeling pretty emotionally raw anyway going into today. Last night, the girl that I’ve kind of had a thing for for a while…”

Mentally, Luka kicked himself. Of course there was a girl. Luka could have deduced that there was a girl just by looking at Adrien without having met him.

“Over the past two years, I’ve periodically asked her out. She’s always said no nicely, but last night she told me not to ask again.” Adrien’s gaze drifted down to his shoes. “It’s complicated. She…doesn’t know that I’m Adrien Agreste. We don’t know each other’s real names, so I’m free to be more like myself with her. I don’t have to keep up the Adrien act. I can be a dorky goofball. I can tell lame jokes and fool around and not be polite and proper and professional. I can be a normal kid. I’ve let her see sides of me that I’ve kept hidden from even Nino and Alya and Marinette…and she doesn’t like me—not romantically, anyway. That would be fine—I mean, it sucks, and it hurts because I _really_ like her, but I can accept that she’s in love with someone else—except recently I found out she has a celebrity crush on Adrien Agreste too. She likes that fantasy version of me, but not the real me, and it hurts to basically be told that the real you isn’t good enough. Not for the girl you like or your mother or your father.”

The urge to pull Adrien into a crushing kiss came back, and Luka smothered it. How he wanted to dote on this boy, take care of him, protect him, make him feel special.

“You’re having a rough week, aren’t you?” Luka sympathized, wiping at Adrien’s tears with his thumb.

Adrien smiled sheepishly, meeting Luka’s eyes as he nodded. “Thanks for not holding it against me.”

Luka couldn’t take it anymore. “May I hug you, or is that weird?”

Adrien’s eyes flew wide in surprise. “I am an affection-starved attention leech. You don’t even need to ask.”

“Good. Because you _really_ look like you could use a hug,” Luka sighed, pulling Adrien into his arms without further ado.

Adrien squeezed Luka tight and buried his face in Luka’s neck. “S-Sorry,” he whispered, voice catching as the tears came harder and faster. “I’m getting your shirt wet.”

“It’ll dry,” Luka replied, resting his head against Adrien’s. “Go ahead and cry. I’ve got you.”

Adrien nodded into Luka’s shoulder, lips moving against Luka’s skin in sinfully delightful ways as Adrien muttered, “I hope Papillon is asleep. Tonight would be a hell of a night for him to finally decide he cares about my despair.”

“Shh. Don’t worry about that.” Luka ran a hand up and down Adrien’s spine slowly.

With a hum of pleasure, Adrien relaxed.

The hum gradually dissipated into a faint purr.

Luka frowned but did not pull away. “…How are you making that sound?”

“What? You can’t purr?” Adrien snickered, the vibrations and his breath on Luka’s neck doing funny things to Luka’s heartrate.

“No. No, I cannot.” Luka had, however, unconsciously hissed in anger on occasion.

“Hm. Well, some people can roll their tongues while others can’t. I purr,” Adrien reasoned.

Luka bit his tongue to keep thoughts of making Adrien purr through more intimate means at bay. “It’s a nice sound,” he replied mindlessly, enjoying the feel of the gentle rumble in Adrien’s throat and chest against his skin.

They stood like that for some time until Adrien’s tears dried up and his breathing evened out.

At first Luka had made an effort to fight off thoughts of how soft and warm Adrien was, how his body molded to Luka’s, how good his Bvlgari Blv shampoo and shower gel smelled. After the first few minutes, it had become impossible to maintain the high moral ground, and Luka had allowed himself to enjoy the brush of Adrien’s breath on his neck, the way Adrien’s fingers gripped Luka’s shirt. Several minutes later, Luka found himself absolutely drowning in the blissful sensory overload that was Adrien. Accepting that he was only human, whereas the boy in his arms was clearly some kind of demigod, Luka gave up the fight against his attraction and settled for carefully keeping his hips back to keep from making things awkward.

Adrien took a deep breath like one waking up from a restful sleep and raised his head to look at Luka while still keeping his arms loosely around the other teen.

Adrien’s half-lidded, sleepy eyes looked like dark green moss in the half-light, drawing Luka in.

Adrien hummed thoughtfully as he studied Luka’s face. He felt pleasantly dizzy. The world was warm and soft and comfortable in someone else’s embrace. The heat of another body made it feel safe and bearable.

Adrien’s gaze flickered down to Luka’s lips before returning to Luka’s eyes.

A sharp jolt struck Luka right below the bellybutton.

“This is going to be an utterly bizarre and inappropriate question,” Adrien prefaced, worrying at his bottom lip with his teeth. “but I’m still kind of drunk, so I’m going to ask it anyway. Do me a favor, and don’t freak out. If the answer is no, just say no and forget I even mentioned it, okay?”

Luka nodded, not trusting his voice entirely.

“Would you ever consider making out with someone just for the physical pleasure of it, without it meaning anything?” Adrien eyed him nervously.

Luka inhaled sharply. He cleared his throat and gulped before even trying to answer. “W-Why…Why are you asking me that?”

Adrien licked his lips, drawing Luka’s gaze. “I like making out, provided my partner isn’t…undesirable, I guess. I’m a really tactile person, and I like the physical sensation of kissing. It makes me feel good,” Adrien answered, carefully watching Luka’s reactions to each statement. “Tonight, I could really use something to make me feel good…. Would you wanna make out with me?”

Luka almost said yes. It was on the tip of his tongue until a voice in his head that sounded an awful lot like Juleka asked, _“How drunk is he? Is he even going to remember this in the morning? Is he going to freak if he remembers this in the morning? How hurt are you going to be if he freaks? How hurt are you going to be if he doesn’t remember? How much is it going to hurt you knowing what it’s like to kiss him and knowing you’ll never kiss him again?”_

In the end, Juleka won out, and Luka reluctantly decided that the most important thing to do in that moment was to protect his heart.

He shook his head. “Not while you’re drunk.”

Adrien’s face fell ever so slightly.

“You’re not sober enough to consent to this, and I refuse to take advantage of you,” Luka explained, hiding behind the logical truth. “I’m supposed to be taking care of you.”

“Just not like that,” Adrien chuckled ruefully, pulling back as he began to mentally beat himself up for the stupid suggestion.

“Hey.” Luka cupped Adrien’s cheek in his hand.

Adrien blinked, eyes owlishly large in curiosity.

“I’ll make you a deal. If you still want to kiss me when you’re completely sober, you can. Until then…” He leaned in and deposited a chaste kiss on Adrien’s forehead. “…that’s all you’re getting. Okay?”

A faint smile started to make a comeback on Adrien’s lips. He nodded. “Okay…. You’re not weirded out, are you?”

“Nah,” Luka assured. “Don’t worry about it.”

Adrien pursed his lips, considering for a minute before giving another small nod. “Okay…. Shall we?” He tipped his head and made to take a step.

“Let’s,” Luka agreed, resuming their walk with an unobtrusive hand at the small of Adrien’s back. “…I assume you weren’t planning on going home until tomorrow. Where are you sleeping tonight? Hotel?”

Adrien shook his head. “A hotel would rat me out to my father or the media or something at the drop of a hat. Plus, my father would be able to trace my credit card. It’s nice enough out that sleeping out of doors wouldn’t be uncomfortable. Plenty of people have rooftop patios with lawn chairs or deckchairs I could sleep in. Chloé, Marinette…I mean, not that Adrien Agreste could crash on Marinette’s balcony. Her parents would call my father as soon as they found out, but…”

“How exactly are you planning on getting up to the rooftops?” Luka couldn’t help but wonder.

“Climbing.” Adrien shrugged. “I have a rock-climbing wall in my bedroom that I practice on. I’m actually a pretty skilled climber.”

Luka cast a sidelong glance at his companion. “I don’t think I want you testing your skills scaling buildings when you’ve been drinking. I don’t think I want you sleeping outside—on a stranger’s balcony no less—either…. I think I’m kidnapping you and taking you home with me.”

Adrien hummed happily, walking a little closer to Luka. “I think I’d like that,” he whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While writing this, I had to stop and get out my keyboard to see which chord Adrien’s smile was most like. G and F Major were the two finalists. Which chord do you think fits best? I’m more of a minor chord fan myself.
> 
> Anyway! I hope you liked it. Was there a particular part you liked best? A particular line of dialogue that stuck out to you? Adrien’s character is still all over the place because of the emotional instability and the alcohol, but that will even out next chapter. I think I have a solid Luka, though. (Feel free to disagree.)
> 
> This is more angsty than I had originally intended, but I hope there’s a good balance of sadness and sweetness with Adrien’s issues and the interactions between Adrien and Luka. Next chapter should be much more fluffy and cuddly. I hope you’ll look forward to it.
> 
> I hope to update next Monday, 08/12/2019. Thanks so much for reading!


	3. …give me excess of it,

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Music, talking, secrets, and fluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Happy Monday, and thank you for joining me for another installment of Phantasmagoria. Thank you for all of the kudos and comments and bookmarks! I'm really glad that so many people are enjoying this story because I honestly thought no one was going to read it. If you do like this story and would like to see more Luka and Adrien stories from me in the future, please let me know before I head back to Marichat and Adrienette Land for the foreseeable future after this. I'm also contemplating a Lukadrienette piece in the future, so if you're interested in that happening someday, please let me know too.
> 
> Announcements: Whoops. I wrote too much. Sorry. This chapter is long. (Is that a good thing? Do you like long chapters?) I was trying to finish it up, but Luka and Adrien kept telling me to shush because they really enjoy talking to one another. So there's going to be a fourth chapter...in which I hope to wrap things up for real. Ha. I will be out of town next week, though, so I'll try to get Four posted before I leave or somehow post it mobily.
> 
> Here's the link to listen to the Philip Glass song Metamorphosis Four that Adrien plays in this chapter if you'd like to listen as you read: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wHq7EJa0ew

“Watch your step,” Luka cautioned as he guided Adrien through the disaster zone that was the living and dining area of the Liberty. “The bad thing about living in chaos is that it’s easy to trip and break something,” he lamented.

Adrien shrugged, carefully stepping over a jumble of extension cords. “Meh. If I break a leg, I won’t have to do runways for a while, and that’s a win in my books. …Besides, I’m insured.”

Luka paused to cock an eyebrow at his companion. “…Seriously?”

Adrien smirked. “Why not? You’ve heard of musicians and athletes insuring body parts, haven’t you? My whole body is a valuable piece of _Gabriel_ property; of course it’s insured.”

Luka pinched Adrien’s ear between two fingers. “How much is this worth?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Adrien snickered.

“How about this?” Luka hummed, poking Adrien in the nose. “I’m guessing a nose is worth more than an ear since you can cover up an ear with a hat or your hair. A nose is front and center. How about an eye?”

“How much do you _think_ my eyes are worth?” Adrien challenged.

Luka rolled his own and answered immediately, “Angel, your eyes are priceless. Any attempt to put a euro value on them would be a grievous insult.”

A hum of pleasure buzzed in Adrien’s chest at that.

“…How much for these?” Luka continued, tracing the edges of Adrien’s lips. “More than a guitar?”

Adrien gave a snort of laughter. “Are you sure you don’t want to kiss me?”

Luka put up his hands in protest. “We had a deal. You only get kissed when you’re sober.”

“I’m totally sober,” Adrien insisted.

Luka rolled his eyes. “You’ll forgive me if I’m skeptical. Watch out for the amp.”

With a half-hearted sigh, Adrien gave up and followed Luka to his cabin.

Luka flicked on the light and was thankful that he’d made his bed and thrown his dirty clothes in the hamper before he’d left that afternoon.

Adrien paused in the doorway, taking in the sparse furnishings—a desk, a minifridge, a chest of drawers, a nightstand, a bed—the modest collection of instruments, and all of the pictures and posters decorating the walls. It was small but homey. It felt lived-in.

“It’s not much to look at,” Luka excused the room with a shrug. “I don’t need much space, though. I’m fairly low-maintenance…except for when it comes to musical equipment.”

“I like it,” Adrien assured. “It has personality. It makes my room look sterile…too big.”

“You just need a sibling to share with,” Luka joked.

A sharp jolt of pain twisted across Adrien’s face.

“You okay?” Luka frowned. “I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong?”

Adrien shook his head, schooling his features into a neutral expression. “No. It’s fine. We’re good…. Sorry.”

“No need to apologize…. You’re sure you’re okay?”

Adrien nodded.

“…Do you want to talk about it?” Luka offered, hesitantly making his way over to lean against the doorjamb beside Adrien.

Adrien looked away as internal conflict made itself apparent on his face. “I…I can’t. …Sorry…. I’m just full of tripwires and landmines, aren’t I?” He tried to smile, but his emotional pain contorted it into a grimace.

“It’s okay,” Luka assured with a soft smile. “Minesweeper is one of my favourite games.”

Adrien laughed, a grin coming back to his lips. “God, you’re smooth.” 

“It’s an innate skill,” Luka snickered, appreciating the way the light fell on Adrien’s face, the highlights and the shadows.

Adrien eyed Luka appraisingly. “I’m starting to think Raoul was right. I need to watch out for you.”

Luka waved the idea away dismissively. “I’m harmless. I promise I don’t bite.”

Adrien looked up coyly, studying Luka for a beat. “Pity,” he hummed, tapping a finger to Luka’s nose. Adrien’s smile turned predatory. “ _I_ do.”

He let his finger trail down over Luka’s lips as he walked away chuckling.

Luka’s mind short-circuited, and, for a minute, all he could think was, “Ngh”. That was shortly followed by, “Is Adrien Agreste hitting on me?” and “Is he still drunk?” as well as “Is flirting with another guy part of his acting out in a desperate attempt to win his father’s love, or is he serious?”. “You can bite me any time you like” was mixed in there too.

By the time Luka’s mind came back online, Adrien had made it across the room to where the keyboard was pushed up against the wall.

It couldn’t have been more than a few seconds because Adrien was saying, “I’m sorry. Ignore me. Like I said, I’m a huge flirt. …I did say that, didn’t I?” as he ran his fingers over the keys of the silent, unplugged instrument, picking out a melody only he could hear.

“You did,” Luka replied, voice thick in his throat. He forced himself to take a deep breath and not think about how Adrien Agreste was alone with him in his bedroom looking so freaking attractive with his fingers dancing across the keys, making them sing soundlessly.

Luka tried not to imagine those fingers making _him_ sing.

This had been a bad idea. This had been a very dangerous idea.

Luka slowly approached, coming up behind Adrien to look down over his shoulder, his right hand settling lightly on Adrien’s hip. “What are you playing?”

Adrien shrugged. “Philip Glass’s Metamorphosis Four. Do you know it?”

Luka shook his head.

Adrien paused his playing to adjust the slider that controlled the volume until it was almost off. He plugged the keyboard in and switched it on, lightly pressing middle C to test the volume.

He looked over his shoulder at Luka. “Do you think that will wake your family? My room’s pretty soundproof, so it’s not something I usually have to worry about.”

“My mom and Juleka are heavy sleepers. The only one you’d have to worry about is Rose, but I don’t think that’s loud enough to even make her turn over,” Luka assured.

Adrien nodded and started over from the beginning. “…This is the fourth in a series of five. It’s a little repetitive, but it’s cool to watch the theme change slightly and develop as the piece progresses through each variation. The challenge of playing it is to keep your place and stay faithful to Glass’s intentions while still making it sound fresh each time.”

Luka watched, entranced as Adrien’s fingers flowed over the keys in a hypnotic wave.

“…My father detests Glass,” Adrien chuckled melancholically. “Too modern. I think he’s called it ‘mindless drivel’ and ‘undisciplined noise’ in the past. Some of Glass’s pieces can be a little dissonant in places, but it’s meaningful dissonance…. I like Metamorphosis, though. I like to play it when my head is a mess because I feel like it centers me. Metamorphosis Four is a little tempestuous, but I think it’s my favourite.”

“You play it beautifully,” Luka whispered.

“Thanks….” Adrien peeked back over his shoulder with a cheeky grin. “Question.”

“Answer?” Luka replied.

“Why ‘Angel’?” Adrien wondered, looking back down at the keys as his right arm crossed over his left. “Usually nicknames have reasons behind them, and I’m curious.”

Luka dropped his hand off of Adrien’s waist. “Sorry. Does it make you uncomfortable? I’ll stop.”

“No, no,” Adrien corrected. “It’s fine. I like nicknames—nice nicknames, anyway, and ‘Angel’ is a nice nickname. Nicknames are a way of showing affection; it means that someone is fond of you. I like that. I was just wondering where the nickname came from.”

“Well,” Luka hummed thoughtfully. “…If the halo fits, I guess. You look like an angel…how I’d imagine one would look if they were real.”

“Hmm,” Adrien replied noncommittally, his fingers fluttering over the keys in a blur.

“You’re sweet and kind and good too. ‘Angel’ just seemed fitting,” Luka concluded. “It was either ‘Angel’ or ‘Perfect Fifth’.”

“‘Perfect Fifth’? Hmm. I like that too.” Adrien chuckled softly. “…But ‘Angel’…I guess Lucifer was an angel too once. I definitely feel sometimes that my angelic façade is a lie and that I’m ugly and selfish on the inside. _You_ are more of an angel, in my opinion.”

Luka opened his mouth to reply, but Adrien cut him off. “—Thank you again for doing this. All of this. _Everything_. I know you’re going to say something like ‘it was nothing’ or that you were happy to help, but…you’ve made a huge difference to me tonight. I’m a colossal mess right now, and I don’t know where I would have ended up if you hadn’t saved me.”

Adrien smiled shyly, keeping his eyes trained on his hands as a light blush dusted his cheeks. “It’s nice to be saved. Nice for someone else to save you. It feels good to be snatched off the rubbish heap. I know none of this is a big deal to you, but it’s meant everything to me.”

Adrien peeked up, and soft green eyes met wide blue ones. “Thank you for being my guardian angel.” Adrien looked away and laughed at himself. “That probably sounds cheesy, but I mean it.”

Luka stepped in, wrapping his arms around Adrien from behind and squeezing the younger teen tight.

Adrien breathed a happy little sigh of contentment and melted into Luka even as his hands continued their urgent progression through the Glass piece.

Luka buried his face in the crook of Adrien’s neck, soft blonde hair tickling his skin. He wanted to kiss the boy. He wanted to kiss him passionately and tug him over to the bed where they could collapse in a jumble and kiss and kiss and kiss until Adrien forgot about his problems, until they lost themselves in each other’s lips and breath and arms and warmth, until they drifted off to sleep like kittens in an exhausted pile.

But he was too scared of what might happen if he did kiss Adrien. He was afraid Adrien would kiss him back and go with him to the bed and kiss him until they fell asleep and then wake up the next morning and have it have been nothing more than the physical pleasure of kissing for Adrien when it had meant so much more to Luka.

Maybe it was just Luka’s natural instinct to care for and protect, but his previous crush on his sister’s cute, sweet, musical classmate had been blown wide open, and Luka found himself falling hard and fast for the complex, complicated, beautiful boy he’d gotten to know that night.

Luka closed his eyes and let himself sink a little into the warmth of Adrien’s skin, the rise and fall of his breath, the sweet and woody scent of his hair. Just for that moment.

Gradually, Adrien’s fingers stilled, and the piece came to an end.

Luka internally cursed, knowing his stolen moment was over and he’d have to let go and step back to a respectable distance.

“Play something else? Please?” He whispered into Adrien’s neck. “…And just let me know if you want me to get off of you.”

“You’re good,” Adrien chuckled. “I never get hugged. I’m not even sure my father understands the concept, so…you’re good…. How about I trade you? I’ll play one more song, and then you have to play me something?”

Luka would have to release his hold on Adrien to play, but…if it stretched out this moment for even another second, it was a trade Luka was willing to make. “Deal.”

“All right. What do you want to hear? My father has me working on Baroque pieces right now. I could do a fugue or a passacaglia, if you like?” Adrien offered.

“I want to hear whatever you want to play,” Luka replied simply.

Adrien thought for a moment. “… _Anything_ I want to play?”

“Anything,” Luka confirmed.

Adrien nibbled at his bottom lip. “…I want to play Boston by Augustana,” Adrien decided. “I’m in that kind of mood lately.”

“Go for it,” Luka encouraged.

Adrien nodded, muttering, “I’d like to dedicate this to the fans of Adrien freaking Agreste, supermodel (registered trademark).”

Adrien began to play a light and delicate theme that danced repetitively in the higher register while soft chords buoyed the melody up, unobtrusively supporting it from underneath. The theme was followed by a contrasting phrase, equally clear and ringing, before the whole tune repeated.

Luka was pleasantly surprised when Adrien began to sing softly at half-voice so as not to wake the other inhabitants of the ship.

Adrien’s voice was a smooth, chocolatey tenor that easily glided over the notes, imbuing the words with so much emotion, Luka could feel it in his own chest despite not always catching the meaning of the English lyrics.

He could tell Adrien felt it, _lived_ it, as he sang, “‘You don’t know me, and you don’t even care.’ She said, ‘You don’t know me, and you don’t wear my chains…’”.

The meaning came across loud and clear as Adrien sang of moving to a new town and starting his life over someplace where no one knew him. Adrien’s weariness with his life seeped through the lyrics and the melody. There was no doubting that Adrien had thought about this: leaving it all behind.

Luka had to wonder how hard Adrien’s sixteen years on this earth had been that he was able to sing so authentically about scrapping it all, escaping. Luka wondered if there was anything Adrien would want to take with him…what was holding Adrien back from making a break for it.

The song built and built, pushing insistently forward with the singer’s longing for change and their fatigue with life conveyed by the lyrics and Adrien’s voice until the music came to a climax. Suddenly, the intensity dropped out with the vocal part, and the delicate, crisp theme from the beginning came back.

“Boston…” Adrien sang breathily. “…where no one knows my…name.” He ended in a whisper, letting the last note resound like the chime of a bell.

Luka allowed a reflective silence to settle in before he gave Adrien a little squeeze of reassurance. “…Wow,” he remarked softly. “Adrien, that was gorgeous…emotional. Your voice is amazing.”

Adrien shook his head. “I’m about average, but I appreciate the ego boost.”

Luka slowly released his hold on Adrien so that he could step up beside him and meet his gaze. “No, seriously. I need to get you to do the vocals for a song I wrote. You are _good_ ,” Luka insisted.

Adrien merely laughed in amusement and shook his head.

Luka let it go, turning his focus to more important matters. “You doing okay?”

Adrien thought about it for a second before nodding. “I think so. Thanks…. I appreciated the hug.”

“Oh.” Luka’s face slowly turned crimson as Adrien switched off and unplugged the keyboard. “You’re very welcome. You’re very huggable.”

Immediately, Luka mentally kicked himself.

Thankfully, Adrien just laughed. “I’m glad someone thinks so…. So what’s up with the keyboard in your room?” Adrien wondered, running a finger slowly over the once-more silent keys in a C major scale. “The last I heard, no one around here knew how to play it.”

Luka winced, bringing a hand down onto the keys to follow Adrien’s scale several octaves lower. “I was dating a keyboardist for a while a couple months ago and got inspired to expand my instrumental wheelhouse. Don’t ask me to play anything on it because I’m a complete novice at best, and I’d be embarrassed for a virtuoso like you to hear me,”

Adrien laughed openly at that, starting to walk his fingers back down the scale.

“but I find that it’s fun to fiddle around and compose on. It’s not the same as composing on guitar—I mean, the guitar is like an extension of my arm, but—keyboard is a really nice change, so I’ve kept it in my room.” Luka shrugged. “Maybe someday I’ll be good enough to play something for you.”

Adrien’s fingers slowly continued their descent down the keyboard past the C where they should have stopped. “…What was the keyboardist you dated like?” he wondered.

Luka bit his lip. “Honestly? She was a little psychotic.”

Adrien frowned.

“I liked her better when neither of us was talking,” Luka sighed.

Adrien’s hand froze on the A below middle C.

Luka looked up to find Adrien’s face a vivid grenadine and wondered why his friend was blushing. He played back the last thing he had said and actually smacked himself in the face.

“When we were playing _music_ together,” Luka groaned. “I meant when we weren’t talking because we were playing music in a completely literal, _non_ -euphemistic way.”

“Oh,” Adrien giggled, resuming his slow walk down the keyboard with his index and middle fingers. “Gotcha.”

“She actually broke up with me because I wasn’t interested in sleeping with her,” Luka sighed, walking his own fingers up towards Adrien’s.

“Why not?” Adrien wondered and then added, “Am I allowed to ask that?”

Luka shrugged again. “Sure…. So…I mentioned earlier that I’m not loose with my affections and that I don’t go home with people until after a serious time commitment. Do you remember that part?”

Adrien bit his lip. “Vaguely, yes.”

Luka nodded. “Some people can sleep with other people casually, and it’s not a big deal. They’re happy and comfortable doing that, and that’s fine for them. That works for them, but I’m wired differently, I guess. I just _don’t_ want to sleep with people unless I feel a strong connection with them. That usually doesn’t happen for some time, so I lose a lot of partners who want to get physical before I’m ready for that in the relationship. That’s what happened…. Plus, she was psychotic.”

Adrien nodded with a soft chuckle. His fingers paused as they finally ran into Luka’s. Adrien’s fingers took a coquettish step back onto the previous key. “What did you like about her in the first place?” he hummed.

Luka’s fingers mirrored Adrien’s, taking a step back of their own.

Adrien bit his lip and advanced tentatively once more, fingers coming to rest on the key next to the one Luka’s finger was occupying.

Luka retreated again, forcing Adrien to follow.

“She was amazing at improv,” Luka answered thoughtfully. “The way she’d pick tunes out of the air and develop them… It had me seeing hearts at first.”

Adrien nodded. “I’m not very good at improvisation. My father doesn’t like it. I don’t get to practice it often.”

“You have your own strengths,” Luka assured, leaving out the part where Adrien _also_ had Luka seeing hearts.

Adrien stretched out his finger to poke Luka’s, winning their impromptu game of tag. Adrien took Luka’s hand in his own and gave it a tug. “You promised you’d play me something if I did another piece,” he reminded, gently guiding Luka over to the collection of guitars.

Luka’s heart stuttered at the hand-holding. He had to remind himself that Adrien meant absolutely nothing by any of this, that Adrien was vulnerable at the moment and much more in need of a friend than some creep hitting on him. The hug had been bad enough. Luka couldn’t keep taking advantage.

“Choose your weapon,” Adrien prompted, letting go of Luka’s hand to gesture to the gaggle of instruments lining the wall.

“It’s going to have to be acoustic guitar for this time of night,” Luka decided, going over to select a sleek, black model. “Feel free to take a seat wherever—bed, desk chair, desk, floor, amp. Sorry there’s not much seating. I don’t usually entertain in my room.”

“It’s fine,” Adrien replied with an unconcerned shrug, slipping off his designer shoes and climbing up to sit on Luka’s bed.

Luka took a slow, deep breath, making a show of checking the tuning of each string so as to avoid dealing with the reality that Adrien Agreste was sitting on his bed and Luka wished Adrien were there for other purposes.

He mentally berated himself for being completely done in by the piano playing and the singing. The _singing_ had been the final nail in Luka’s coffin. Why did musical talent have to be such a turn on for him?

“You’re such a musician,” Adrien chuckled, leaning back, resting some of his weight on his hands. “that you’d fall for someone based on their musical ability.”

Luka froze, panicking for an instant. Had he said any of that out loud? How had Adrien figured it out? Was Luka’s devastating crush that obvious?

“Was there anything else that drew you to her besides her ability to improv?” Adrien continued conversationally.

Luka finally started breathing again as he realized that Adrien was talking about Victoire, the keyboardist. “Musical ability was the main thing,” Luka hummed. “I’m trying to remember. I think she had nice legs or something, but it wasn’t really a physical attraction that made me say yes when she asked me out.”

“You’re such a musician,” Adrien repeated, laughing softly.

Luka rolled his eyes and grinned as he walked over to the bed to tussle Adrien’s hair. “Hey. No judging. We all have our weak points when it comes to attraction. I seem to recall someone professing themselves a sucker for blue eyes,” Luka teased, poking Adrien’s nose.

Adrien’s eyes widened, and his face went vermillion. “Did I actually say that?”

“Mmhm.” Luka took a seat cross-legged and brought the guitar into position.

“To you? _About_ you?”

“It was flattering.”

Adrien groaned. “I am so sorry.”

“Oh? Having second thoughts?” Luka strummed quietly, playing a few experimental chords. “Am I only attractive to you when you’re drunk, Angel?” He felt so much more in control with a guitar in his hands.

“No!” Adrien rushed to assure. “No, you’re very attractive. I didn’t mean that you weren’t. You’re incredibly handsome and really cool and—I’m just sorry for hitting on you like that.”

“Relax,” Luka gently urged, looking up to meet Adrien’s frantic eyes. “I was just teasing you. You’re fine.”

Adrien held Luka’s gaze for a minute before nodding. “You’re sure? I’m not making you uncomfortable?”

Luka shook his head. “You’re fine.” It wasn’t anything Luka couldn’t handle with a little self-control. “Just don’t start taking your clothes off, and we’re good,” Luka pretended to joke. 

“I’m not drunk enough to perform a strip show for you,” Adrien chuckled, “so I don’t think we’ll have a problem…. You’re sure I’m not being too weird?”

Luka shook his head, mentally batting away thoughts of Adrien stripping. “I don’t mind the flirting. It’s cute and, honestly, flattering. Relax already.”

Adrien took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay. Sorry. It takes a lot for me to be truly comfortable around new—or new-ish, I guess—people. With Nino, I know he’ll still love me no matter what stupid thing I say or do, but you… It still feels like I could say one wrong thing and you’d never be friends with me again.”

Luka dipped reflectively into D minor. “That’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself.”

“It’s an innate skill,” Adrien grumbled sadly.

Luka clicked his tongue. “Don’t stress so much when you’re with me.”

Adrien shrugged helplessly. “Give me a couple months. I’ll eventually learn.”

“I’m prepared to invest as much time as necessary into this friendship, so take your time,” Luka assured. “…Now, what do you want me to play for you?”

Adrien nibbled on his lip thoughtfully. “Play me something you wrote.”

Luka nodded. He considered for a minute and then obliged. 

A calming, mellow melody filled the cabin, reminding Adrien of lazy waves, the smell of salt and sunscreen, the blistering heat of the sun, the cool lapping of the water, the grittiness of sand, and the refreshing breeze making the foliage sway lightly as the sun went down and the insects started to sing. It was all there in the music, a beautiful sound-painting unfurling at Luka’s fingertips.

Adrien sank into the notes, closing his eyes and letting the sun warm his skin. He could feel it. He could hear the crash of the waves, the shrieks of seagulls and small children as they frolicked in the surf.

Just as Adrien was settling into the scene, it faded away.

He opened his eyes, disoriented as he found himself back aboard the Liberty when seconds before he could have sworn he was on the Playa Espadilla Sur in Costa Rica.

“Wow,” Adrien breathed appreciatively. “How did you do that?”

“Do what?” Luka arched an eyebrow.

“Make the guitar sound…like so many different things. I didn’t know it was possible to get so much mileage out of one instrument. That was just fantastic,” Adrien gushed.

Luka smiled, pleased at the praise, but then shrugged. “You do the same with the piano.”

“I do not,” Adrien snorted. “What you just did was magic. Play something else,” Adrien commanded but then remembered his manners. “Pretty please?”

“Since you asked nicely,” Luka easily acquiesced. “What do you want to hear?”

“Another one of your pieces, please,” Adrien urged, scooting in closer to watch Luka’s fingers as they worked.

The next song was like being wrapped up in a warm blanket with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book, listening to the crackling of the fire while rain gently pattered against the windows. It was soft and comfortable and calming. Everything about the music spoke of safety and contentment and peace.

Even though Adrien could see Luka’s fingers moving, he couldn’t figure out how Luka was making all of those disparate sounds coalesce into the scene in Adrien’s mind.

As the distant, harmless thunder rumbled in the background of the piece, Adrien’s eyes slipped closed, and he melted into the scene, drawing the blanket closer around him as he flipped to the next page of the Dumas novel.

Gradually, the gentle storm moved out. The clouds parted, and the sun began to toy with the idea of peeking through them. House sparrows started to sing, and the piece ended on the cheerful trill of one sparrow calling to another.

Adrien opened his eyes reluctantly, wanting to hold onto the serenity and warmth he’d felt in the song.

“I’ve made a decision,” Adrien announced.

Luka waited patiently for the declaration.

“You were Orpheus in another life. I’ve never heard anyone make a guitar sing like that. What other explanation can there be?” Adrien winked, smiling teasingly.

Luka rolled his eyes but returned the smile. “You got me. I suppose there’s no use denying it any longer, but you have to keep it a secret between the two of us, okay?”

Adrien nodded, laughing in child-like amusement. He mimed zipping his lips. A second later, he unzipped them to ask, “Where did you learn to play?”

Luka returned to strumming aimlessly in the background as he replied, “I taught myself.”

“How?” Adrien demanded, amazed. “I mean, I know people do, but…I can’t imagine teaching myself piano, and guitar seems…less straightforward, I guess.”

Luka shook his head. “Not to me. Instruments have always just made sense. More sense than people…. When I was four or five, I found an old guitar that someone had thrown out, and I started to fiddle around with it. I saw other people playing, and I copied them. I figured out that I could pick out songs I liked, and I spent hours working out the melodies note by note by ear. My mom got me a book on learning guitar about a year later when I was still obsessed with the thing, and that’s when I started to really get chords and reading music and everything. I’ve never taken lessons for any of the instruments I play. I’ve just let the instruments talk to me and teach me about themselves. That’s probably a weird way of saying it, but that’s what it’s felt like to me. A dialogue with the instruments, learning from them.”

“…I’ve never tried listening to my piano before,” Adrien hummed pensively. “I wonder if we’d get along better if I did.”

“Your piano would probably tell you to forget what your father says and play more of what you love.” Luka smiled teasingly.

Adrien rolled his eyes and laughed. “My piano would or _you_?”

Luka answered confidently, “Both of us.”

Adrien gave Luka a gentle whap. “Smart aleck.”

“What can I say? Your piano is wise. She knows what she’s talking about.” Luka nodded sagely.

“Oh? Do you two chat often or something?” Adrien snorted.

“Mmhm. My Orpheus abilities allow me to commune with the instruments,” Luka informed. “I have a psychic link with your piano. She’s hurt that you’re cheating on her with that cheap, younger hussy-of-a-keyboard.”

Adrien burst into a crisp, clear laugh that took even him by surprise. He put a hand over his mouth to stifle it. “Tell her I’m sorry. The temptation was too great.”

“You’re going to have to make it up to her tomorrow.” Luka shook his head gravely and then broke into a wide grin.

Adrien returned the smile and went back to watching Luka’s fingers intently as they transitioned over the strings, strumming beautiful, meandering melodies into existence.

“…Will you teach me to play?” Adrien inquired, looking up hopefully.

Luka paused to consider the boy in front of him. Adrien seemed in earnest. Luka knew it would probably be another test of his self-control, but he nodded, handing Adrien the guitar and scooting closer.

“Just a few chords tonight. You’re probably tired, even if you haven’t realized it yet. If you really want to learn, you can come back, and I’ll teach you,” Luka proposed. “Sound good?”

Adrien nodded enthusiastically. “Deal!”

Luka carefully inched up behind Adrien and gently repositioned his fingers, naming the notes corresponding to the positions and showing him how to strum.

“That’s a G major chord,” he chuckled. “Like your smile.”

Adrien laughed. “This smile?”

The grin got Luka right in the stomach from such a close range.

He forced himself to breathe. “Not quite. The G major smile is more of a radiant surprise. That one now is more F major—more subdued and content than euphoric.”

He moved Adrien’s fingers on the strings. “Like that. F major.”

Adrien chuckled, amused. “And what do _your_ smiles sound like?”

Luka shook his head. “I’ll play one for you.”

Adrien handed back the guitar and was treated to a warm yet confused melody that seemed to wander off and get lost before it remembered what it was supposed to be doing.

“My smiles are a lot simpler than yours,” Adrien observed.

Luka nodded. “Your emotions are a lot stronger and clear-cut than mine. You feel a lot of things, but you feel them intensely, losing yourself in one emotion before moving on to the next. Your emotions can shift quickly, but whatever you’re feeling, you’re feeling it fully.”

“You’re very perceptive,” Adrien hummed, reaching out entreatingly for the guitar and carefully taking it back from Luka so he could practice switching between the two chords.

“It comes from practice. From paying attention.”

Adrien clicked his tongue. “Hm. I’m afraid I’m a little oblivious. I guess I haven’t had much practice. …Where was the F again?”

Luka guided Adrien’s finger. “Here.”

“Thanks.” Adrien hummed in satisfaction at the sound, his F major smile matching the chord.

“…It dawns upon me that I’m a horrible host.” Luka smiled in chagrin. “Can I get you anything?”

Adrien shook his head, not looking up from his fingers. “Thanks, but I’m fine.”

“You sure? Bottle of water?” Luka pressed.

Adrien relented. “Okay. A bottle of water, I’ll take. Please and thank you.”

Luka got up and went over to the mini fridge on the other side of his desk, bringing back two bottles of Evian. “You’re not hungry? When was the last time you ate?”

“Luka, I’m fine,” Adrien laughed in fond exasperation, sidestepping the fact that he had barely touched his dinner after losing the fight with his father.

“If you’re sure. Otherwise, Marinette went on a baking rampage, experimenting with new madeleine flavors, and she dropped off a whole container with me. I was going to offer to share some with you, but since you’re not hungry…” Luka trailed off and began to count in his head.

He hadn’t made it to three when Adrien eagerly took the bait.

“I lied. I didn’t eat dinner, and I’m famished. Please share?” He gave Luka his best puppy-dog eyes.

Luka snickered triumphantly, getting up to fetch the container from the nightstand’s bottom drawer. “Yeah, I thought you’d change your tune.” Luka set the container on the bed between them and opened the lid.

Adrien carefully laid the guitar down next to him as if it were made of glass and then shifted forward to peer owlishly at the varied madeleines.

“Geez,” Adrien breathed. “I’m jealous. Marinette is always sharing her baking experiments with our friends and schoolmates, but she never gives any to me. I always steal some of Nino’s share, but…I don’t know if she thinks I can’t have any because I’m a model or my father would object or something or if she just doesn’t like me much, but I always feel so left out when everyone else is snacking on macarons, and I don’t get any.”

Luka frowned. “That’s…bizarre. What? She just hands out baked goods and skips you or something? That doesn’t sound like Marinette.”

Adrien shook his head. “She periodically hands out little treat bags to various people individually, privately. Never in front of me, and it’s not like everybody gets one every time, but…I’ve never gotten one _period_ ,” he snorted.

Luka hummed pensively, making a mental note to ask Marinette about this.

“You must be special to get a whole container to yourself,” Adrien grumbled, taking note of the assorted madeleines all lined up neatly. He looked up suspiciously at Luka. “You’re sure that she doesn’t _like_ like you?”

Luka bit his lip. “…I think…I’m more of an afterthought, honestly. I mean, there’s definitely something between us, but…I’m not her first choice. I may not even be her second.”

Adrien raised an eyebrow skeptically. “What makes you so sure?”

Luka shook his head. “Sometimes we talk. There are two guys she seems conflicted about. One, I definitely know she’s crazy about, but he doesn’t seem to notice her. The other one that she mentions from time to time likes her, but she doesn’t reciprocate. At least, she doesn’t seem to think she does, but from the way she talks about him, he’s definitely someone special to her. I think she does have feelings for him deep down, even if she doesn’t want to admit it.”

“And then there’s you,” Adrien murmured.

Luka nodded. “And then there’s me.”

“It sounds to me that you’re the most likely choice if the one guy doesn’t like her and she doesn’t like the other guy,” Adrien ventured.

Luka looked away. “I don’t know. Honestly, I’m really stuck on her, but…she’s really stuck on the guy that _she_ likes, and the thought of being ‘settled for’ doesn’t feel very good.”

“O-Oh,” Adrien replied softly.

“Yeah,” Luka sighed. “…There are a lot of reasons why a relationship with Marinette wouldn’t be a good idea right now. There’s someone else I’m kind of taken with too.”

Adrien arched an eyebrow in interest. “Oh?”

Luka shook his head and grinned ironically at Adrien. “It’s not happening. They don’t have those kinds of feelings for me.”

Adrien frowned. “Why not? I mean…is there something keeping her from liking you, or does she just not like you right now? You seem easy to fall for. I can’t imagine her feelings not changing with time if you courted her.”

Luka bit his lip as he looked into those innocent green eyes. He wanted to be honest with Adrien and say, “He’s straight”, but he couldn’t risk making Adrien uncomfortable at being alone with Luka like this when Adrien was emotionally vulnerable with nowhere else to go for the night. He couldn’t make Adrien doubt Luka’s intentions. He couldn’t let Adrien start to think that Luka had only been nice to him because Adrien was attractive. Adrien needed a friend he could rely on, not a suitor whose motivations he couldn’t trust. Luka would tell Adrien eventually. Once Adrien knew that Luka was trustworthy and would never take advantage of him. Until then, Luka would just have to deal with the fact that he felt like he was lying to Adrien. Adrien’s feelings were more important.

So, instead of saying “he’s straight”, Luka told the truth in a different way: “They like girls.”

Adrien’s eyes widened and then narrowed into an uneasy frown. “Oh,” he mumbled.

“Yeah,” Luka breathed in defeat.

“I’m sorry,” Adrien offered lamely, obviously feeling bad.

Luka shook his head. “You have nothing to feel sorry for,” he assured gently. “I’m okay. It sucks, the whole thing with them and Marinette, but I’m resilient. I may lose some sleep at night, but I’ll be okay. I’m not letting myself waste away pining. I’m dating other people, genuinely falling for other people, having fulfilling relationships…. I’m okay.”

Adrien looked thoughtful as he considered his own situation with Ladybug. “I don’t think I could be as strong as you,” he decided. “Once I fall for someone, I cheerfully let them ruin me, burn me up from the inside out.”

Luka winced. “That…doesn’t sound healthy.”

Adrien shook his head. “No. It’s not, but it’s the only way I know how to be—obsessive.”

“Please don’t feel insulted, but have you ever considered talking to a counselor?” Luka broached the subject tentatively. “Just from talking to you tonight, it’s pretty apparent that you’ve got a lot of crap going on in your life in both the past and the present. Talking to a therapist really helped me, and I wonder if it wouldn’t help you too. Sorry for being so forward, but I care about you, okay?”

Adrien stared for a moment, completely caught off guard. “You do?”

Luka blinked and was silent for a beat as he processed the question, processed the fact that Adrien had skipped over the serious mental health stuff and was surprised simply to hear that Luka cared about him.

“Yes,” Luka answered tersely. “God, yes. Of course I care about you. I’m bewildered that you find the very thought of it so unbelievable.”

Adrien shrugged. “People don’t, typically. Not for real. Not until they really get to know me…and the people who have really gotten to know me are few and far between…and I don’t know that they’d still like me as much if I were more honest with them like I’ve been with you tonight. Maybe Nino would, but…”

“Geez, you’re making me want to hug you again,” Luka hissed. “Eat some madeleines and know that you are very, very easy to care about. The people who don’t are just self-centered and dumb.”

Adrien laughed at that, reaching into the container for a chocolate chip honey madeleine. “Glad you think so.”

“I do,” Luka snorted in exasperation at the people in Adrien’s life. “God, I need to get my mom to adopt you so we can keep you here with us and smoother you with love and attention. As a born nurturer, it drives me bats that no one is taking care of your emotional needs. This is unacceptable.”

Adrien laughed again, a wide, grateful smile spreading across his lips. “Thank you for getting mad for me.”

“You’re welcome,” Luka sighed, suddenly feeling exhausted.

“You’re wonderful, Luka,” Adrien insisted earnestly.

Luka’s breath caught in his throat, and, once more, he had to reign himself in as his heart did a backflip. “Thanks. Excuse me.” He reached past Adrien for the guitar and started to try to work out his feelings in notes.

Adrien listened quietly to the confused, aching, longing, frustrated melody that still somehow managed to be beautiful and lyrical even as it writhed in unrequited feelings. Obviously, things with Marinette and the other girl really did bother Luka.

“I’m sorry,” Adrien whispered after he had finished his chocolate chip honey madeleine. “I didn’t mean to bring up an upsetting topic.”

The tune evened out, calming down as Luka looked up at him. “You have nothing to apologize for,” he reiterated. “I’m fine. I’m just…feeling stuff, you know?”

Adrien nodded.

“It’s okay to feel stuff. It’s healthy to express it instead of keeping it bottled up, so… Don’t worry, Perfect Fifth. We’re good.”

Adrien lit up like a candle in the window in a storm at the nickname.

“Eat another madeleine,” Luka urged. “The date and Earl Grey ones are actually delicious, and the vanilla bean raspberry ones melt like buttery clouds in your mouth. Have one of each. Try them all. I have plenty, and it would be a sin to waste them.”

“I’m going to take you up on that offer,” Adrien warned.

Luka chuckled, and the song wandered into G major, taking on, Adrien thought, a fond, almost infatuated character. “Go ahead. That’s what they’re there for.”

“What are the other three flavors?” Adrien wondered, gazing down into the neatly organized container.

“From your left to your right: blueberry ricotta, cherry amaretto, and orange and cardamom,” Luka recited.

“Fancy,” Adrien hummed, picking up a date and Earl Grey madeleine. “Not that I would expect anything less from the heir to Tom and Sabine’s genius, but…”

“She said she was playing around, trying to come up with something new for the bakery, but I think she was just stress baking.” Luka’s song slipped into minor, notes of concern and foreboding creeping in.

“Really? Why?” Adrien frowned, pausing with the madeleine halfway to his mouth.

Luka shook his head. “Another attempt to get the guy she likes to notice her gone wrong. She called me last night almost in tears, and then this morning she showed up with madeleines looking like she hadn’t slept.”

Adrien didn’t reply, and Luka glanced up to find an absolutely crestfallen expression on Adrien’s face.

“Are you okay? What’s wrong?” Luka set down the guitar and reached out to cup Adrien’s cheek.

Adrien shook his head. “Today?”

Luka frowned. “‘Today’ what?”

“That was today that Marinette…?” He trailed off, expression shrinking in on itself, taking on a guilty aspect.

“Yeah. Adrien, what’s wrong?” Luka asked again, beginning to get worried. Had he somehow tipped Adrien off that _he_ was Marinette’s crush and now their friendship was ruined?

“I didn’t notice anything,” Adrien mumbled, gaze dropping to the madeleines. “Marinette is one of my closest friends, and I didn’t notice that anything was off today at all.”

Luka winced, sliding his hand up to tussle Adrien’s hair gently before pulling away. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. I imagine that there were other things preoccupying your thoughts today. Marinette is going to be fine. You just worry about…all of your stuff,” Luka sighed. “Maybe call or text Marinette tomorrow ‘just because’ and tell her you were thinking about her. That would make her happy. See if there are any upcoming fashion events that you can invite her to. That’ll cheer her up. She’s very fond of you, Adrien. You’re an important friend to her. A little attention from you will go a long way.”

Adrien nodded, spirits lifting. “Okay. Yeah. You’re right. I’ll text her tomorrow. I’m probably going to get grounded for pulling this little stunt when I get home, but I can at least talk to her and promise to arrange something as soon as I’m out of the doghouse.”

A thought occurred to Adrien, and he looked up in honest concern. “Are _you_ okay, Luka?”

Luka blinked. “Yeah? Why do you ask?”

Adrien reached out and poked Luka’s cheek. “That must have really sucked, being there for Marinette, knowing she was hurting because of some other guy…knowing _you_ would never hurt her like that…knowing that you would appreciate her and treat her the way she deserves. I feel like that when the girl I love talks about the guy she’s in love with, so…I can’t imagine it was easy for you.”

Luka smiled gently, picking up a cherry amaretto madeleine. “Yeah, it sucked, but I’m okay. Thanks…. I know the guy she likes is a good guy and that he doesn’t hurt her on purpose. He has no clue she likes him, and if he did know how badly he’s been hurting her, he’d probably be gutted. It’s a sad situation, but I don’t wish him ill.”

Adrien pursed his lips. “I know you said a relationship between you and Marinette isn’t a good idea right now, but are you really sure you don’t want some help setting her up with you?”

Luka shook his head, smiling fondly in exasperation. “Don’t you dare, Adrien.”

Adrien shrugged, stuffing an entire madeleine into his mouth with a sigh of resignation.

“How about you?” Luka couldn’t help but ask. “Have you ever thought about asking Marinette out?”

Adrien nearly choked.

Luka grimaced, handing Adrien his water bottle and patting the younger teen on the back. “Sorry.”

Adrien shook his head. “It’s okay.” He cleared his throat and took another sip of water. “To answer your question, no. I mean, Marinette is awesome, but I’m really stuck on the other girl, and Marinette still doesn’t seem entirely comfortable with me, even though she’s worlds better than she was when we first met. I don’t see a relationship working between the two of us. People would call her a gold-digger and say she was using me to get a leg up in the fashion world, and even just asking her would probably ruin our friendship, so…”

Adrien shrugged, reaching for another madeleine, this time the orange and cardamom.

Luka nodded slowly. “So you _have_ thought about this. You just think it would be an unmitigated disaster, so you’re not allowing yourself to consider it.”

“Yes.”

Adrien bit his lip.

“No.”

Upon further reflection, he changed his answer a second time: “Maybe. I don’t know. She’s pretty, but, like I said, I’m busy burning for all eternity in Unrequited-Love-Hell, and I just want to be Marinette’s friend. She’s amazing, and I wish we could be closer friends, so I don’t want to introduce anything into the relationship that could mess that up. I’m not emotionally available right now, and I don’t know if or when I ever will be. I don’t need to be complicating my life further by entertaining romantic notions about one of my best friends…one of my _only_ friends.”

Luka nodded, letting the topic go. “That’s fair. Above all, you need to take care of yourself, Adrien. Do what’s best for you.”

Adrien frowned. “That’s…a bit of a foreign concept for me.” He finished the orange and cardamom madeleine and reached for a blueberry ricotta one.

“I suggest you work on familiarizing yourself with it,” Luka advised.

Adrien was quiet a minute before remarking, “Why can’t I be the heir to a _bakery_ empire?” as he stared contemplatively down at his madeleine.

Luka put a hand over his mouth to muffle his laughter.

“Seriously,” Adrien pouted. “I would totally switch places with Marinette in a heartbeat except I wouldn’t wish my life on anyone.”

Luka’s laughter immediately dried up. “…That’s sad.”

“It is what it is,” Adrien replied detachedly. “…I’d probably get fat if I lived above a bakery. I don’t know how she keeps so skinny and little. I have such a sweet tooth, I’d be eating pastries all the time.”

Luka clicked his tongue. “I need to kidnap you and feed you sweets more often. Clearly your family is mistreating you.”

Adrien nodded, giving Luka the biggest, saddest puppy-dog eyes. “We need to go for ice cream next time.”

“Do you want some now?” Luka offered, trying not to laugh at Adrien’s intensity.

Adrien’s eyes went wide. “Seriously? You _have_ some?”

Luka gave Adrien a deadpan look. “You say that like it’s something you’re not allowed to keep in the house.”

Adrien smiled sheepishly. “Have pity on a poor, deprived model.”

“Oh my God,” Luka muttered. “Up. Now. Get up. There’re at least four kinds of ice cream in the freezer. It’s not fancy, but something tells me that you won’t know the difference, you poor, neglected child.”

Adrien got to his feet and obediently followed Luka out to the main cabin and back behind the bar where they kept the refrigerator.

“It looks like we have dulce de leche, black cherry merlot, birthday cake batter, and better-than-sex chocolate,” Luka announced as he peered down into the freezer drawer.

“Can I have a little bit of each, or is that too much?” Adrien wondered.

Luka got out two bowls and a scoop as he shook his head. “You can have whatever you want. How could I say no to you?”

They took their ice cream back to Luka’s cabin and ate it sitting on the bed.

Luka had opted for just the chocolate.

Adrien took a bite of his own scoop of chocolate and nearly melted at the rich, creamy flavor coating his tongue. He hummed in appreciation. “This is _really_ good.”

“Glad I could facilitate.” Luka smirked with pride as he leaned back against the wall alongside the bed.

Adrien bit his lip, mentally debating before gathering the courage to ask, “Is it actually better than sex?”

Luka coughed, nearly choking on his spoon.

Adrien immediately backpedaled. “I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have asked. I just thought—”

“—Adrien, you’re good,” Luka quickly cut him off. “You just…kind of caught me off guard…. I’m a little surprised you don’t know,” Luka admitted.

Adrien’s face turned beet red as he looked down into his ice cream bowl and began to stammer out some defence of his virginity.

“No,” Luka quickly assured. “It’s fine. It’s good even, not having done it just because you could if you haven’t found someone you want to share that experience with who wants you back. I guess the girl you’ve been in love with has complicated things, but…from what you were saying earlier about being an ‘affection whore’ and feeling like your body was public property… I’m kind of glad you haven’t done anything. From talking with you, I get the feeling that you’re not one of those people who would enjoy casual sex. You’d probably feel guilty and used, so…it’s okay to be a virgin, even if everyone else around you isn’t. Sex is something you should have because you want to, not because you feel like you should. It’s okay to wait until you’re ready with the right person, okay?”

Adrien nodded, his cheeks returning to their normal hue as a sense of relief and calm came over him.

“That was my concerned-big-brother speech,” Luka informed. “Thank you for humoring me by listening to it.”

Adrien met Luka’s eyes with a shy smile. “No. Thank you for caring. I don’t have a lot of people I can speak frankly with about stuff like this, so…it’s really refreshing to have someone be straight with me. I mean, with Nino, when we do talk about it, all he can say is how great it is and how much he loves Alya. And then the guys at school and the other models will sometimes boast about it, about how hot their partners were or how many people they’ve slept with…. My father periodically calls me into his office to remind me how unplanned pregnancy will ruin my life and career and the company, but…I don’t really have anyone I trust who I feel like I can ask questions or advice or anything.”

Luka set his spoon down and ruffled Adrien’s hair. “I didn’t either. I mean, my mom is fantastic, and I can talk about anything with her now, but when I was first figuring things out, it was a little…” Luka fluttered his hand, palm down, in a dodgy gesture. “I really could have used some solid male role models in my life.”

Adrien nodded in understanding.

“…But you asked about the ice cream,” Luka reminded, getting them back on track. “The jury’s still out on that. A couple of my friends have said yes, it is better. A few have said no. My mom thinks it is. My sisters say no, though—independently and without knowing what the other one said.”

Adrien’s brow furrowed. “You have a sister besides Juleka?” This was news.

Luka blinked and then laughed. “Rose. It’s only a matter of time before it’s official, and she’s pretty much lived with us these past three or four years anyway, so…”

“Don’t her parents object to her spending so much time away?” Adrien wondered.

Luka’s expression darkened. “They’re not always around. They travel for work, so Rose has spent a decent chunk of time with us since she was little…and the problem is that her parents _do_ object. They’re still kind of hoping that Juleka is just a phase that Rose is going to grow out of, but…” Luka grimaced. “They really do love Rose. They’re not bad parents. There’s just this impasse between them because they can’t accept that their daughter likes other girls.”

“Oh,” Adrien replied softly, his heart aching for his friends. “I had no idea.”

“You wouldn’t know from the way Rose acts. She’s a happy, optimistic person through and through. It’s tough sometimes, but she doesn’t let it get her down. She firmly believes that her parents will get over it. She teases that they’ll have no choice once the grandchildren come,” Luka informed with a wide, laughing grin.

Adrien found himself smiling too. “Good old Rose.”

Luka nodded. “She’s a Couffaine in all but name. I couldn’t be prouder of my sisters.”

Adrien briefly wondered what Félix would think of Adrien if he could see how his little brother had turned out. Would Félix be proud?

“I wish I had siblings,” Adrien muttered, digging back into his quickly-liquefying ice cream.

“…You can come be a Couffaine any time you want,” Luka offered. “Seriously. Mom and Juleka and Rose will tell you the same thing at breakfast tomorrow.”

“You all eat breakfast together?” Adrien’s eyes widened in surprise and longing.

“Mmhm. On weekends, we eat at around ten-thirty. You can join us tomorrow.”

“I’d like that.” Adrien smiled down into his ice cream. A thought occurred to him, and he looked back up. “Do _you_ think the ice cream is better than sex?”

Luka broke into a quick, surprised laugh and shook his head. “No. But I only sleep with people that I’m crazy about, and I think that ups the chances of having good sex, so the odds were not in the ice cream’s favor.”

“…Am I allowed to ask how many people you’ve slept with?” Adrien inquired tentatively.

“Four,” Luka answered immediately. Two of each.

“You said you weren’t dating anybody right now…. Was it awful breaking up with them?” Adrien wondered.

Luka took another bite of ice cream and considered for a moment. “Yes and no. Two of them, it was a mutual breakup because it wasn’t working anymore, and we could both feel it. We wanted different things, so it didn’t make sense to keep being a couple, but we’re still friends.

“Another one, I broke up with her, and that was a little hard,” Luka sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. “I felt horrible because she still loved me, but…that was a couple months ago. I was going through one of my ‘Marinette phases’, and I couldn’t keep dating Babette when someone else had my heart. It wouldn’t have been right, but it still sucked. I haven’t seen Babette around lately. I think she’s avoiding me, and I don’t really blame her.”

Adrien nodded, waiting patiently for Luka to continue in his own time.

“Only one was really brutal. Honoré,” Luka sighed nostalgically, knowing Adrien would hear the female “Honorée”. “Honoré messed me up. It was about two years ago, after I finally accepted that things weren’t going to work out with Marinette, and Honoré was the first person that I really let myself fall senselessly in love with. I wrote so many songs about Honoré,” he chuckled, shaking his head. “Honoré was…God, to be sixteen and that in love again. I don’t think I’ve ever let myself drown so much in another person since then…. Honoré was my first, and I was absolutely crushed when Honoré left me.”

Adrien grimaced, his heart crumpling in sympathy, unable to imagine how wrecked he would be if Ladybug returned his love briefly only to take it away again.

“It’s a good thing it happened during summer vacation because I locked myself in my room for, like, a month and didn’t eat, didn’t sleep…. I just wrote songs about how miserable I was and how much I wanted Honoré back.” Luka winced, laughing at himself. “I was more than a little pathetic.”

Adrien shook his head. “I don’t even want to think about how bad I’d be.”

“Then don’t.” Luka tapped his foot playfully against Adrien’s. “Angel, I’m fine. I’ve dated nearly a dozen people since then and have fallen for three of them. Honoré was an experience that I learned from. Yes, it ended badly, but I’m glad it happened. I have so many good memories of Honoré, and, two years later, I’m able to look back on that time and smile without all of it being tainted by the breakup. Don’t feel bad for me. If things with Honoré hadn’t ended, I would have missed out on other people and other experiences. It’s all good.”

Adrien pursed his lips. “Rose isn’t the only optimist in this family.”

Luka snickered. “We have to work hard to counterbalance Juleka.”

Adrien laughed at that. “…Thank you. For sharing with me like this.”

“No problem,” Luka assured. “It’s actually really easy to talk to you. Besides, you already shared so much with me earlier. It makes me want to even the playing field a little, prove that I trust you too.”

Adrien’s heart swelled in his chest, touched by the gesture. A warm smile bloomed on his lips. “Thank you.”

Luka winked and reiterated, “No problem.”

Adrien bit the inside of his cheek. “…Wanna play a game?”

Luka’s head tipped curiously to the side. “What game?”

“Trading secrets,” Adrien proposed. “According to Alya, it’s what you do at sleepovers. I’ve never had a sleepover before, and I don’t know when I’ll next get the opportunity, so…but only if you want to.” Adrien looked at Luka hopefully, trying not to show how much he wanted Luka to say yes and failing.

“What kind of secrets?” Luka hummed. “Little secrets? Big secrets? Medium secrets?”

“I think the secrets start small and then get bigger, but you don’t have to say anything you’re not comfortable with,” Adrien explained.

“Okay. I’m game,” Luka agreed. “Me first or you?”

“Me,” Adrien volunteered. “I love sour cream and crème fraîche.”

“How is that a secret?” Luka wondered.

Adrien stuck out his tongue. “Because I’d eat it straight with a spoon if given half a chance.”

Luka grimaced even as he laughed. “Yeah, don’t tell people that. You’ll ruin their image of Adrien freaking Agreste, supermodel (registered trademark).”

Adrien almost choked on his ice cream. “You know, it’s really funny when someone else calls me that.”

Luka shook his head fondly. “…I sometimes get this irrational craving for raw eggs,” he confessed.

Adrien wrinkled up his nose. “Seriously?”

“I don’t even know why!” Luka suspected that it was a snake thing. “So I make cookie dough because that’s the only socially acceptable manner of eating raw eggs.”

Adrien nodded slowly, impressed. “That’s really clever. I think the only way I could get away with eating globs of sour cream would be putting it in a yogurt container or eating nachos…which my father disapproves of.”

“Sad day,” Luka commiserated. “You can come over and eat crème fraîche without being judged if you won’t judge me for the egg thing.”

“Deal,” Adrien agreed. “We are going to be such good friends.”

“I hope so,” Luka chuckled. “…Next secret?”

Adrien nodded, announcing, “New topic: musical guilty pleasures. I genuinely enjoy listening to Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-A-Lot,” Adrien admitted from behind the hand he was using to hide how red his face was.

“Ouch,” Luka snickered. “Oh, Angel. That’s almost indefensible.”

“It’s catchy,” Adrien whined, moving his hand out of the way so that he could see to kick Luka in the shin.

“It’s okay. Mine is Come on Eileen,” Luka confessed. “Same defence.”

Adrien frowned. “What’s wrong with Come on Eileen?”

Luka grimaced. “Date rape song, just like Baby It’s Cold Outside. It is never okay for someone to pressure someone else into having sex, even if it’s just a song.”

“Well, you’ve ruined Christmas for me,” Adrien muttered ruefully.

“Sorry,” Luka apologized with the most contrite smile…and yet somehow still managed to look entirely unrepentant. “Someone had to.”

Adrien pursed his lips. “Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off saved my life about a year ago.”

Luka frowned, trying to think of any public scandal concerning the Agrestes from that time. He came up blank. “Literally or figuratively? Do you need another hug? How worried should I be about you?”

Adrien pushed away a memory of standing at the top of the Eiffel Tower for two hours in the middle of the night after a particularly bad akuma and the fallout with Ladybug had left Chat Noir in Paris’s black book for a month and a half.

“Figuralliteratively.” Adrien shrugged. “I don’t think…I mean, I wouldn’t have…”

“You have three seconds to tell me not to hug you,” Luka advised and began to count.

“Hugs are usually welcome on all occassions,” Adrien replied weakly.

Luka leaned in, placing a hand on the back of Adrien’s neck and resting his forehead and nose against Adrien’s. “I never thought I’d say this, but thank God for Taylor Swift…. I’m glad you’re here.”

“…Me too,” Adrien mumbled.

Luka slowly pulled back. “If you ever feel like that again, talk to somebody, okay? It doesn’t have to be me so long as it’s someone, but I _am_ here if you need me. I’ve, unfortunately, got a lot of experience. Music has gotten me through a lot, but don’t feel like you have to go through that kind of thing alone if it happens again, okay?”

Adrien nodded, actually meaning it. “Thanks.”

Luka bit his lip. “How to Save a Life by The Fray is a terrifying ‘what if I fail’ scenario for me…and I really do think that Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is my favourite. I know you’re supposed to have a cooler, more obscure, sophisticated answer, but…I think Beethoven’s Fifth is the one. It really resonates with me.”

Adrien smiled softly in appreciation for Luka bringing back the comfortable, easy atmosphere between the two of them.

“Yeah,” Adrien chuckled. “Beethoven’s Fifth is phenomenal…. One more secret?”

Luka nodded his consent. “One more secret.”

Adrien chewed on his lip in contemplation of all the secrets in his life. “…I think I know which one I want to tell you. It’s a big one, and you’re in no way required to reciprocate on the same level, but I’ve wanted to tell someone for, like, two or three years now, even though I know I’m not supposed to.”

Luka frowned interrogatively. “Are you sure you should be telling me?”

Adrien shook his head, smiling sadly. “I really shouldn’t, but I’m sick of being told that I can’t by my bossy, well-meaning crush. I’m sick of no one knowing.”

Luka wondered what kind of secret this was going to be. It sounded messy.

“…I know what a kwami is,” Adrien announced simply.

Luka blinked, wondering why that was such a big secret. Then it hit him that the only people who knew what kwami were were people who’d had kwami, meaning…

Luka groaned, putting a hand over his eyes. “Adrien, you really shouldn’t have told me that.”

“I know. I’m sorry, but it’s not like I told you who I am,” Adrien reasoned. “Really, you’ve only got a one in nineteen chance of guessing.”

Luka lowered his hand and frowned. “Well, I’m guessing you’re not Ladybug or Mayura or Papillon.”

“Okay. Maybe it’s more like a one in fifteen chance of guessing my identity.” Adrien’s sheepish smile was hanging on by a thread. “…This was a bad idea.”

“Mmhm.” Luka sighed, shaking his head. “I have a pretty good guess of who you are, and now I’m going to worry every akuma attack.”

Adrien looked down at his empty ice cream bowl. “I’m really sorry.”

Luka mussed Adrien’s hair roughly before smoothing it back into place. “No, I’m sorry. I’m reacting badly. I should be thanking you for all that you do and…and I’m just kind of freaking out a bit because you get thrown into walls and rivers and things, so…”

Luka took a deep breath. “Thank you. And thank you for trusting me, even if you shouldn’t have.”

Adrien’s expression perked up a little. “So you’re not mad that I told you?”

“No, just a little exasperated.” Luka ruffled Adrien’s hair once more to reassure his companion. As he withdrew his hand, he froze, his eyes going wide. “Though…it occurs to me that by freaking out over you knowing what a kwami is, I’ve inadvertently revealed that I know what a kwami is.”

Adrien winced. “Shoot. I hadn’t thought of that. If it makes you feel better, I already knew—or, at least, I was ninety-nine percent sure.”

Luka frowned deeply. “You were?”

Adrien nodded. “I mean, there was a reason the number went from nineteen to fifteen when ruling out the people I could be. You could assume that I wasn’t Ladybug, Papillon, Mayura, or…you.”

“How?” Luka demanded breathily. “Who told you?”

Adrien shook his head. “I didn’t need to be told. Unlike me, you still look like and sound like and act like you when transformed. Okay, your hair is more teal than blue, but… With what was going on with Juleka when you first appeared…it was a safe bet it was you. I’ve heavily suspected this whole time, and it’s never been an issue, so I don’t think you have to worry about me knowing for sure now.”

Luka pursed his lips. “Are you certain? Ladybug was adamant about not revealing my identity to anyone. She said it could put the people I care about in danger.”

Adrien rolled his eyes. “She’s a worrywart. I’ve been mind-controlled and brainwashed by dozens of akuma, and you’ve never been targeted by Papillon any more than anyone else, have you? I think she only came up with that rule because she doesn’t want me to know who she is so that I can’t bother her in her real life too. Carapace and Rena Rouge know each other’s identities, and it’s not the end of the world, so I don’t see why she’s so…”

Adrien paused to swipe at the traitorous tears building at the corners of his eyes. “Sorry. Thinking about her is upsetting at the moment.”

Luka’s mouth rounded into a soft o. “She’s the girl you love,” he realized.

Adrien nodded, gazing down at the bedspread as he fiddled with his fingers. “She doesn’t like me in leather. She’s only interested when I’m a pretty, airheaded model on a billboard. I can only imagine what she’d think of me if she could see me tonight.”

Luka ever so gently reached out and began to rub behind Adrien’s ear.

Adrien’s eyes widened and then slipped close as he leaned into the touch.

“You need to find someone who appreciates you for you,” Luka whispered. “There are too many people in your life who make you feel like you’re not good enough. You need someone who makes you realize how special you are.”

“Are you applying for the job?” Adrien laughed sarcastically. “If not, could you kindly inform me how one goes about finding such a person?”

Luka bit his tongue before the silly appendage could do something stupid like say, “I’m falling in love with you. Go out with me, and I’ll show you just how wonderful and lovable and valuable you are”. Their friendship was too new and fragile for those kinds of overtures.

Instead, Luka withdrew his hand, saying, “Hold on a second.”

Adrien watched curiously as Luka cleared the bed, setting the empty ice cream bowls on the desk, returning the guitar to its stand, and placing the container of madeleines back into the bottom drawer of the nightstand.

Once finished, Luka got back up onto the bed, back against the wall, legs stretched out in front of him. “Lie down,” he instructed. “Head here.” He patted his thigh. “You look like you could use a head rub.”

Adrien blinked once and then readily complied. “You spoil me,” he chuckled happily as Luka’s fingers started to work slow, rhythmic circles along Adrien’s scalp.

“Someone has to,” Luka reasoned. “…You make me want to take care of you.”

“Do you have a soft spot for abandoned kittens?” Adrien hummed, arching his back as Luka’s fingers found _the spot_. Adrien gave a breathless, involuntary little moan as his toes curled in pleasure.

It immediately occurred to Luka that this had been a bad idea. Watching Adrien go to pieces like that…

“One kitten in particular, at least,” Luka muttered, chagrined. “Your head is really sensitive, isn’t it?”

“Mmmm,” Adrien replied.

Luka began to pray for the willpower and self-control to keep this platonic as Adrien nuzzled his thigh and started to purr.

“I’ll take care of you,” Luka whispered, caressing the outer shell of Adrien’s ear. “Until you find someone you love who loves you, I’ll be there for you…as long as you want me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go. The third chapter. Did you like it? These two are such cute friends. I like their dynamic, and they're easy to have talk to one another. What did you think? Was it too long? Was there a part you didn't like? Did you have a favourite part or a favourite line?
> 
> What did you think of the descriptions of the music sections? Honestly. Seriously. Did I do a good job describing the songs? Were you able to follow what I was talking about, or did that part make no sense? Describing music is kind of hard, especially when you have to keep in mind that your audience might not have studied music. Honest opinions will be helpful for writing Luka in the future, as, when he's around, things seem to get musical fast.
> 
> Quick notes: a perfect fifth is a music thing. I included the link to the Wikipedia article below for those of you who care.
> 
> It is my personal belief that Viperion is based on the Orpheus myth. The lyre, the snake that bit Eurydice... My friends, Luka is secretly Orpheus. Pass it on.
> 
> There are a bunch of French names that have male and female pairs that sound the same but differentiate gender by spelling change that you can only see if the name is written: Michel/Michelle, Frédéric/Frédérique, René/Renée, Honoré/Honorée. My other name choice for Luka's boyfriend was Camille which is a unisex name. I think it used to be used more for males, but now it's used more for females. I ended up going with Honoré (for Balzac <3), though.
> 
> Thank you for reading everybody! Let me know what you thought and if you'd like to see more Adrien and Luka or Lukadrienette content in the future. I'll try to have Four up soon, so keep a look out. Thanks again!
> 
> References:  
> Perfect Fifth: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_fifth  
> Philip Glass Metamorphosis Full: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M73x3O7dhmg  
> Metamorphosis Four: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wHq7EJa0ew  
> Boston Augustana Lyrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1ZBJ570wug


	4. …that, surfeiting, the appetite may sicken, and so die.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The self-control triathlon continues. Luka comes clean. Adrien fails to grasp the entire range of his own emotional issues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, wonderful people! I'm back from my trip. I'm sorry I didn't get this posted on time. I didn't have it finished, and without access to my computer, I couldn't do the editing and posting remotely. It's here now, though, and I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Thanks so much to all of the commentors and everyone who left kudos or bookmarked the work. I'm so happy to hear that so many people are enjoying this!
> 
> Please see the end for an announcement. ^.^

“Adrien?” Luka called softly.

Peridot eyes flickered open before falling to half-mast.

“Hm?” Adrien purred, pupils huge and dark and inviting.

Luka gulped, another wave of want washing over him. He trampled down the urge to kiss the boy silly. “I think it’s time to get ready for bed.”

Adrien groaned in protest, nuzzling Luka’s thigh once more in hopes of getting more head rubs.

“Come on, you giant cat,” Luka chuckled softly. “You’re going to regret sleeping in jeans if you don’t get up.”

“Fine,” Adrien grumbled, giving a full body stretch that gifted Luka a glimpse of Adrien’s lovely abs as well as the band of Adrien’s designer boxers.

With another groan, Adrien pushed himself up to sitting. “Man, I thought Marinette was good, but your head rubs are mind-blowing.”

Luka frowned. “Thank you? Since when does Marinette give you head rubs?”

Adrien had the decency to blush. “Don’t judge me. I know I’m in the wrong, but I really wanted to be friends with Marinette, and Adrien makes her uncomfortable, so…I might have started showing up at her house as Chat Noir, and they may be good enough friends where she gives him head rubs on occasion. I know I’m a creep, and I’m sorry, but…” Adrien buried his crimson face in his hands, muttering, “My life is really complicated.”

With a terse sigh, Luka tussled Adrien’s already thoroughly-mussed hair. “I’m not condoning this behavior,” he informed. “I’m just choosing not to deal with this right now because it’s nearly three AM, we are both tired, and you’ve had a rough day. Let’s just go to sleep, okay?”

Adrien nodded, not bothering to put up a fight.

“Sleeping arrangements,” Luka announced. “I usually just sleep in my boxers, but I think I have a pair or two of sweatpants, if you’d like to borrow some. I think your hips are a little narrower than mine, so they might be too big, but…”

Adrien shrugged. “If it’s all the same, I’ll just sleep in my boxers.”

Luka tried not to think of Adrien in boxers. He tried really hard. “Okay. Well…you can take the bed. I can change the sheets real quick, and, then, I guess I’ll sleep out on the couch in the main cabin.”

Adrien rolled his eyes. “That won’t be necessary. Luka, I’m not kicking you out of your bed. We can share…unless that would be weird?” He looked up at Luka for a judgment call.

Luka’s mind went blank. Share a bed with Adrien Agreste while they were both wearing only boxers? When Luka woke up that morning, little had he expected to be competing in a self-control triathlon.

“No. That’s fine,” he heard himself reassuring Adrien. “We can do that, if it’s not weird for you.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Adrien agreed. And then started to take his shirt off.

Luka stared, hormones suddenly reminded that it had been over a month since he had made out with anyone and several months since he’d last made love. Normally, Luka didn’t jump into physical relationships. Normally, he had no desire for sex until multiple months into a relationship when he felt a deep connection with his partner. Adrien was apparently the exception. Luka felt that connection already and wanted nothing more than to make sweet, tender love to Adrien.

Mentally, Luka cursed. What the hell was he getting himself into? He was no saint. What was he thinking? He couldn’t just—

Adrien happened to look up and catch Luka staring. He blinked innocently, unsuspecting. “Problem?”

Luka shook his head, breaking the stare. “Sorry. You’re a lot more toned than I thought. I guess it’s a superhero thing?”

“I think so.” Adrien shrugged, unzipping his jeans casually.

Luka went back to mentally cursing, fingers trembling as he began to disrobe himself.

Adrien folded his clothes neatly and set them down on top of his shoes.

Luka tried not to watch, silently berating himself for being a pervert.

“You look pretty good yourself,” Adrien hummed, taking a seat on the bed and admiring Luka’s torso.

Luka’s face took on a hue reminiscent of a tomato. “Thanks. That’s extremely flattering, considering you’re usually surrounded by objectively beautiful people.”

Adrien shrugged. “They may be objectively beautiful, but, subjectively, I find them all a bit plastic. It’s like looking at a marble sculpture. It’s very nice but too contrived for my taste. I prefer beauty that’s more organic, less staged.”

“Oh.” Luka tried not to infer anything from that statement as he slipped off his pants. Still, his mouth at three in the morning had _ideas_. “Is that your subtle way of telling me that I’ve got a shot with you?”

Adrien laughed brightly. “Oh? You think I’m being _subtle_ as I drape myself across your bed in my boxers and remind you that I’m pretty sure I’m sober now, so if you’ve changed your mind about making out with me…”

Luka forced himself to take a deep breath. “You are running on fumes after an emotionally draining day. You’re riled up from that head rub and trying to keep your head above water after the latest relationship drama with Ladybug. I think it’s safe to say that you’re not in your right state of mind right now and, therefore, not eligible to give consent.”

“Probably not,” Adrien muttered dejectedly. “…You were supposed to laugh and roll your eyes at me, though…not take me seriously.”

Luka sat down beside Adrien and gave his unruly blonde hair a gentle pat.

“Sorry,” Adrien whispered. “I feel like I’m on an emotional rollercoaster. I don’t mean to flirt with you like this. I swear I don’t mean to throw myself at you. I’m sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable. I just…”

“It’s okay,” Luka assured. “You just want to feel loved, and, tonight, I’ve not withheld affection from you like you’re used to. I understand that you’re just testing the boundaries, trying to see how much I’ll give you.”

Adrien paled. “Put like that, it sounds like I’m just using you.”

Luka waved the thought away easily. “Don’t worry about it.”

“It’s not like that,” Adrien insisted, a hint of urgency in his voice.

“It’s okay,” Luka countered, giving Adrien’s cheek a little pat. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I intend to worry about it because it’s not like that. Not entirely. I mean…I would be there for you. In the future, if you need someone, I’ll be there for you. I don’t want this to be one night of me using you to feel better and then us never talking again. I want this to be a real friendship where sometimes you call me, falling to pieces, and I sneak out of my house to come sit up all night with you until you feel better. I don’t want you to think I’m only here because you were convenient. Tonight’s meant more to me than that.”

Luka’s ears turned red at the honesty in Adrien’s eyes. His resolve not to mess things up with Adrien because of his feelings for him redoubled as he realized that maybe there really was some genuine affection between them, even if Adrien’s attraction to Luka wasn’t quite on the same level or of the same nature.

Luka smiled warmly. “Good to hear it.” He gave Adrien’s cheek another pat. “We’re okay, Perfect Fifth. Let your mind rest easy about it. Time for bed.”

Adrien held Luka’s gaze, studying Luka’s face for any trace of doubt. Finding none, he nodded, a small smile emerging onto his lips. “Okay.” He reached out and ruffled Luka’s hair, laughing at the resulting mess.

Luka stood and shook his head like a dog, his hair falling back into place. “All right, you. Do you want the side of the bed next to the wall or next to the edge?”

“Edge?” Adrien responded uncertainly. “Unless you’d prefer the edge? In that case, I’m fine with the wall.”

Luka rolled his eyes as he flipped the light switch off. “You take the edge. I’m good wherever.”

Adrien let Luka crawl in first and then settled down next to him, their shoulders lightly touching.

“Sorry my bed probably isn’t as comfortable or spacious as what you’re used to,” Luka thought to apologize.

Adrien snorted, rolling over onto his side to face Luka. “Are you kidding? My original plan was to crash on Marinette’s balcony in a leather cat suit…granting she didn’t find me and make me move in onto her chaise longue. That thing is ridiculously uncomfortable just to sit on. I can’t imagine _sleeping_ there. Your bed is wonderful…and, this way, I don’t have to be alone tonight while I’m feeling like crap. I am _grateful_ to be in this bed right now.”

“Happy to have you.” Luka leaned in to drop a kiss on Adrien’s forehead. “Night, night, Adrien.”

“Night, night, Orpheus,” Adrien tittered, returning the kiss.

Luka’s forehead tingled at the lingering ghost of the contact.

“It’s been a long time since someone kissed me goodnight,” Adrien hummed. “My mother stopped doing that when I was ten or so. She and my father had a big fight about her coddling me and treating me like a baby…. This is nice. Thanks for spoiling me.”

“You’re very welcome. I’ve been told I’m the ‘mom friend’. I’m always glad to spoil and take care of others,” Luka assured. “…Sleep tight.”

“Mm,” Adrien mumbled, eyes quickly slipping shut. His breathing evened out, and, within minutes, Adrien was asleep.

That left Luka to lie in misery, watching Adrien’s angelic face as he dreamed.

Luka closed his eyes, but sleep fled from him. With a sigh, Luka rolled over to face the wall so that his shoulder no longer brushed Adrien’s.

In his sleep, Adrien chased after the lost warmth, snuggling up against Luka’s back.

Luka mentally cursed. Of course the touch-starved, affection-seeking Adrien would be a snuggler.

Luka carefully turned back over to face his tormentor. “You may have been right, Angel. Maybe you are a demon.” He reached out to gently stroke Adrien’s hair and play with his bangs. “You’ve been tempting me all night long.”

“Do us all a favor and keep resisting,” an unfamiliar voice growled.

Luka tensed but didn’t jump as two glowing, lime-colored eyes glared at him through the darkness. “…Ah. You would be his kwami?”

“Plagg,” Plagg replied curtly as he settled onto the pillow next to Adrien’s head.

“Nice to meet you, Plagg. I’m Luka,” Luka answered, not knowing what one was supposed to say when meeting a deity shaped like a cat.

“Yeah. I know.” Plagg did not sound impressed. “Kindly take your hand off of my kitten.”

Luka obediently withdrew his fingers from Adrien’s hair. “…Where were you hiding?”

Plagg studied Luka, seemingly trying to decide whether he deserved an answer. “I was phased into his left shoulder. It’s more comfortable for the both of us than a pocket or his shirt collar.”

“I see.” Luka stared at the small cat. “…Are you hungry, Plagg? If so, feel free to raid the fridge. There’s plenty of…but I’m sure you eat something besides eggs and tofu.”

Plagg did a full-body recoil. “Sass is gross. Tofu?” Plagg shuddered again. “Who actually eats tofu? People who don’t know about cheese. Poor, uneducated souls.”

“I think we’ve got some cheddar and some Parmesan in the fridge, if you’d like to help yourself,” Luka offered.

Plagg snorted. “As if I’d leave him all alone in your clutches for cheese.”

Luka raised an eyebrow. “What have I done this evening to make you think Adrien wouldn’t be safe with me?”

Plagg crossed his arms leaning in in an attempt to seem intimidating. “It’s the way you look at him. You’ve got hearts in your eyes, little snake-ling, and you reek of hormones. The kid might not have a clue, but I can read you like a billboard. This is courting behavior. You’re entirely smitten with him. Care to deny it?”

Luka sighed, checking to make sure Adrien was still asleep before answering, “No. Smitten is a fair assessment. Not that I want him to know that, so could you kindly keep your voice down?”

Plagg rolled his eyes. “The kid sleeps like the dead. Plus, he’s wiped. He has plenty of practice sleeping through me….” Plagg eyed Luka intently. “Don’t think I won’t warn him about you.”

“I wish you wouldn’t. I’d rather tell him myself.”

“When?” Plagg challenged.

“When he’s less of a wreck and knows for sure that I actually care about him and I’m not just being nice in an attempt to get him into bed with me,” Luka replied.

“The irony, considering where we currently find ourselves,” Plagg laughed mirthlessly after a beat.

“I would like it noted that I tried to sleep on the couch. _This_ was Adrien’s idea.” Luka rolled his eyes. “Besides, you know what I meant. Adrien needs a friend, not a suitor. I’m emotionally mature enough to appreciate that and what that means in respect to what I can and cannot do with him. I would like to cite my turning down that tempting offer to make out with him.”

Plagg sighed begrudgingly. “Yeah. All right. …Thank you for that. I don’t know what that child was thinking. He doesn’t get hugged enough, and he just…he has bad ideas. He’s desperate, and he’ll take affection wherever he can get it…. I worry about him.”

“I can see why,” Luka whispered, reaching out to brush Adrien’s bangs from his face. “…I’m not going to take advantage of him…. I’m going to try not to let him take advantage of me either.”

Plagg hummed thoughtfully. “You’re one of Sass’s all right. Ladybug chose well.”

“You think?” Luka blinked, taken by surprise.

Plagg nodded. “Snakes are very levelheaded. They feel a lot and deeply, but they keep clear heads when it’s important. When you’re in serious trouble, you want a snake to get you out of it. My kittens have historically worked well with Sass’s brood.”

“…Plagg, I would never do anything that Adrien didn’t want me to,” Luka insisted, trying to calm the kwami and dispel his reservations.

Plagg hummed, not quite content with that answer.

“I would also never do something Adrien wanted that I thought would be bad for him…like making out tonight while he was still tipsy,” Luka illustrated.

Plagg sighed in defeat. “Okay. I have to admit that you’ve taken good care of him when you easily could have screwed him over left and right. Maybe I owe you a little credit.”

“Thank you.” Luka smiled broadly, feeling like he’d won a major battle.

“Uh-huh.” Plagg blew out a long breath. “I just worry about this one. Typically, my kittens have something a little not right going on with them. I mean, you don’t get to wield ultimate destruction without some chaos going on in your life, but this one…this is one of the more concerning kittens. No one’s looking out for him. He could be dead in a gutter, and no one would miss him until he wasn’t at a scheduled event. I’m protective of this one…. Don’t you dare tell him we had this conversation.”

The look in Plagg’s eyes was threat enough. It promised total annihilation.

“Understood,” Luka promised.

“…I appreciate your desire to take care of him. Just keep it in your pants, or I’ll kill you,” Plagg informed matter-of-factly.

Luka stifled a laugh, and it came out as a snort. “I don’t think that’s ever something Adrien’s going to want with me.”

Plagg sighed, curling back up on the pillow. “I never know with this kid. I don’t even think that _he’s_ figured that out yet. Not that I’m encouraging you in any way, shape, or form.”

“Of course not.” Luka nodded.

“…It’s just that you’re a lot healthier for him than Ladybug.” Plagg hummed softly. “…This child takes it out of me. Do me a favor and go to sleep. Dream of guitars and music and stuff. Try not to think about green-eyed blondes.”

“You do realize you’ve just cursed me,” Luka groaned.

Plagg snickered. “It’s what I do.”

Luka woke to a pleasant weight on his chest and a face-full of golden hair. 

Sometime during the night, Adrien had snuggled his way into Luka’s arms, and now he was purring softly as he curled around Luka, using the older teen as a body pillow.

Luka accepted his fate rather gracefully. He took note of Adrien’s leg sinuously twined around his own, the way Adrien’s hand loosely gripped the band of Luka’s boxers, how Adrien’s skin felt warm and comfortably heavy and _right_ pressed up the side of Luka’s body and across his torso, and Luka calmly acknowledged the fact that this boy was going to put him in an early grave if Luka had to resist Adrien for much longer. 

Luka wanted to wake up like this always. He wanted more nights of trading music and serious conversations and playful teasing and nervous flirting and sensuous dancing. He wanted G major smiles and arpeggios of laughter and the full version of that tango theme that started to play in Luka’s head when Adrien looked at him with pupils blown and hazy eyes. Luka wanted more. He wanted a future with this boy.

As he lay in bed with someone he wasn’t allowed to touch, Luka began to spin scenarios in his head: someday two or three years in the future where Adrien would lift his head, smile like the Habanera from Carmen, and lean in to kiss Luka gently before roughly divesting him of his boxers. A day where all the feelings and emotions Luka felt swirling in his own chest were in Adrien’s too. A day where Luka was free to say, “God, I think I’m falling in love with you” and have it returned with a shy but joyous, “Me too”.

Sadly, today was not that day, and Luka could only savor the delicious moment while it lasted, even as he prayed for a future full of moments like it.

He wished he could reach a guitar to try to work out this upwelling of emotion, but he knew he’d never be able to play without disturbing Adrien, even if an instrument were near at hand.

He’d need to sit and meditate for a good long time after this was all over.

A few minutes of blissful torture later, Adrien inhaled deeply, and the contented purring stopped as, not yet quite awake, Adrien began to readjust his position half on top of Luka. All of the sudden, Adrien tensed, and Luka held his breath, awaiting the moment of truth.

Adrien’s head snapped up, and he met Luka’s concerned gaze with a look of sheer horror. As quickly as the terror had come on, it left, and Adrien dropped his head back to Luka’s chest and laughed.

“S-Sorry. I forgot for a second there and had a bit of an ‘oh shit’ moment where I thought I had done something really stupid,” Adrien snickered.

The vibrations tickled Luka’s skin, making goosebumps rise on his arms. “…I hadn’t taken you for the type to curse. I’m a little scandalized.”

“I only swear when the occasion merits it,” Adrien chuckled as the adrenaline spike tapered off. “Waking up in bed with some random person would have merited more than a little cursing.”

“Good to know I’m not some random person,” Luka hummed.

“No. I know I’m safe with you,” Adrien muttered, eyes slipping closed once more.

Luka let the silence settle in the cabin for a minute. It was the usual, mid-morning noise of a weekend in the heart of Paris: birds trilling, traffic buzzing, the Seine lapping. All of it slid into the cabin unobtrusively through the porthole window.

“…How are you feeling?” Luka tentative chipped away at the silence. “Any holes in your memory? Do you remember how you got here?” he ran down the list.

“Tired. Worn out emotionally. Apprehensive about what happens after I get out of this bed,” Adrien summarized with a groan. “There are things that are a little fuzzy, but I remember running into you at the bar and you taking me home with you and talking and talking and you playing some of your songs for me. I think the important parts are all there.”

“Okay,” Luka blew out in a long breath. “Good. We’re good, then. I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do if you woke up and I had to explain that we’re friends now and, no, even though we’re practically naked in my bed, nothing untoward happened.”

“Sorry I put you in that position,” Adrien mumbled sheepishly.

“You’re good. Don’t worry about it,” Luka assured. “…Well. Now that the formalities are out of the way…Good morning, Perfect Fifth.”

Luka could feel Adrien smile against his skin. “Good morning, Orpheus.”

A thought occurred to Adrien, and he lifted his head slightly. “…Do I need to get off you, or can we stay like this a bit longer? Sorry. I know this is…this isn’t…I know I’m crossing a line. I just…”

Adrien winced but found the courage to soldier on with his request. “You’re really warm and comfy, and it’s been a long time since I had someone to snuggle with. My mother used to—I mean, until my father told her I was too old…and I’ve never had a girlfriend who I could do this with. Cuddling with a pillow isn’t really the same, so…”

Adrien scrunched up, losing his nerve and delivering his own rejection before Luka had time to puncture Adrien’s heart with one of his own: “Actually, this is completely inappropriate, and I know it. I know I shouldn’t ask, so I’m just going to shut up and get off you now. I’m sorry.”

“Wait.” Luka placed a hand on Adrien’s back before he could pull away. “It’s all right. Just for a little bit, okay? But watch your leg. You’re about an inch away from making me miserable.”

“Sorry,” Adrien mumbled, carefully shifting so that his leg was no longer so high up between Luka’s. “Better?”

“Better,” Luka confirmed.

“Thanks for humoring me like this,” Adrien whispered, the shame evident in his voice.

Luka breathed a small, tired sigh and gently wrapped his arms around Adrien, one hand petting his hair while the other moved in long, slow strokes up and down Adrien’s back. He tried really hard not to enjoy the sensation too much because Adrien _trusted_ him, gosh darn it. He had to be good. Just a _friend_. Just a really supportive, affectionate friend.

“You’re okay, P5,” he whispered into Adrien’s hair. “You’re okay.”

“No,” Adrien confessed. “I’m manipulative, and I use people…just like my father. You weren’t wrong last night when you said that I wasn’t used to affection, so I was pushing boundaries, seeing how much you would give me. Right now, I’m seeing what you’ll let me get away with. I _am_ using you to some extent.”

Luka curbed the growing urge to go kick in the door of Gabriel Agreste’s atelier and shout at the designer, “Stop working for a minute and go hug your kid! You and your wife seriously screwed him up because he thinks it’s somehow wrong for people to be affectionate with him”.

Luka took a deep breath and tried to remain calm and collected as he made his reply.

“You seem to be under the impression that it’s wrong to ask for something you need,” Luka observed, keeping his voice low, his tone soft. “You seem to think that you’re tricking me into giving you something that I don’t want to give you, that you’re not entitled to. Adrien, relationships of any kind are basically mutually agreeing to use one another. In crude terms, you want my attention and affection and company. I want your conversation and to enjoy your musical talents. To those ends, we’ve entered into a mutually beneficial arrangement. Relationships are give and take. You may think you’re taking more than you’re giving right now, but I’m sure things will naturally even out over time. There’s no need for you to feel guilty.”

“…It still feels wrong,” Adrien replied. “It would be different if I needed you to lend me five euros or help me with my Physics homework, but…I’m half-naked in your bed asking you to snuggle with me. I objectively know that this isn’t okay…but I still _want_ it.”

Luka mentally cursed, his breath hitching. He took a slow, measured inhale, reminding himself sharply that Adrien would be like this with anyone who offered him the affection he desperately craved. It didn’t necessarily have to be Luka. It just was, and Luka really needed to step up his game and be the friend Adrien clearly needed in that moment.

It got easier as Luka thought, _“How bad are things for Adrien at home that he’s_ this _desperate for love that he’ll take anything that he can get?”_ It truly spoke to the extent of the neglect and the abuse Adrien had grown up with—was _still_ experiencing—that they were even in this position.

Luka squeezed Adrien a little tighter and mumbled, “You need a pet.”

Adrien lifted his head slightly. “I have some fish.”

A fond chuckle rose up in Luka’s throat. “No. I meant something furry and soft and cuddly and warm. You need a dog. Something big like an Anatolian Shepherd or a Collie or a Golden Retriever. Something that will curl up in bed with you and lick your face and look at you like you’re the most amazing person on the entire planet.”

“…My father has _opinions_ about animals,” Adrien informed with a resigned smile. “I think getting me fish was a big step.”

A low growl rumbled in the back of Luka’s throat, but he bit his tongue before he could vocalize the thought that if Adrien’s father couldn’t be bothered to love his son, you would think that the least he could do was supply an adequate stand-in. Luka decided then and there that he and Gabriel Agreste were sworn enemies.

“You need to move out,” Luka grumbled. “You need to get out of that house and get a dog. You need to move out, get adopted by my mom or Marinette’s family, and get a dog.”

Adrien was quiet and thoughtful for a moment. When he finally responded, it was in a very small voice. “…I can’t.”

“Why not?” Luka tried to keep his frustration from showing. He tried to be objective and neutral. It was incredibly difficult.

“I couldn’t just _leave_ my father,” Adrien reasoned.

Too many people had already left Gabriel: Félix, Émilie…and it sounded like Gabriel’s own parents before that, in a way, from what Adrien had been able to piece together. Adrien couldn’t be yet another in that long line.

Objective, neutral, merely curious: “Why not?” It wasn’t as if Gabriel was any kind of presence or source of support in Adrien’s life.

“I love him,” Adrien explained simply, as if it were obvious. “He’s family…all that I have left. And I’m all he’s got too.”

Luka pursed his lips, trying not to argue that Adrien could have a new family, one that spent time with him, one that provided him with the support and love that he needed, one that actually cared about him. A family that didn’t push him away and make him feel small, insignificant, forgotten, unwanted, and worthless…like a chore to be checked off a list. He wanted to tell Adrien that things could be _better_ , that there were options besides abuse and loneliness…but it wasn’t Luka’s place. Maybe after their friendship had grown and matured, but, at that moment, it was too much too fast to try to butt into Adrien’s life in that way, even if Luka did have the best of intentions.

“Moving out doesn’t necessarily mean leaving your father behind,” Luka replied instead. “Maybe just think about it a bit?”

Adrien made a little, ambiguous “hmm” in response.

“I’m not telling you how to run your life, though,” Luka added quickly. “Sorry. You probably get enough of people telling you what you should or have to do. I don’t mean to be more of the same. I just think…maybe your living situation right now isn’t so good for you.”

Adrien shifted uncomfortably against Luka’s skin.

Luka bit his lip, his hand in Adrien’s hair slowing. “I’m sorry if this is something you don’t want to talk about. I know I’m crossing a line, and I’m sorry. You can always tell me to shut up, Adrien.”

Luka could feel the tension growing in Adrien’s back as his hand made its way up and down Adrien’s spine.

“Just know that I’m saying all this stuff because I care about you.”

The anxiety that had been coiling up in Adrien’s body gradually began to melt.

“Thank you for caring,” Adrien quietly chuckled, “…despite everything I’ve put you through over the last twelve hours.”

Luka snorted. “Please. You were an angel compared to the rest of my family. Clearly, you’ve never had to corral Rose before. _That_ is a handful. You were a cakewalk.”

Adrien raised his head to study Luka’s face skeptically. “…I seem to remember trying to seduce you.”

A burst of ironic laughter caught Luka by surprise. “My Angel, you didn’t just try. You _succeeded_.”

Adrien rolled his eyes, thinking Luka was kidding. “Seriously, I’m sorry. Thank you for taking it so well.”

“Adrien,” Luka sighed wearily. “If this is what you need, it’s okay. There’s no need to be embarrassed about any of this. You don’t have to apologize. If you ever need something, just ask me for it.”

Adrien slumped back into Luka’s arms. “Like how I tried to get you to make out with me?” he muttered in pure mortification. “God, I am _so_ sorry. You must think I’m a total slut who will make out with just anyone.”

“Adrien, no—”

“—I _am_ a total slut,” he groaned.

“Adrien.” Luka pushed them both up to seated so that he could take Adrien’s face in his hands. “Look at me,” he commanded firmly yet not unkindly.

Adrien reluctantly met Luka’s gaze. Misery and humiliation were heavy in those green eyes.

Luka ran an affectionate thumb across Adrien’s cheekbone. “Don’t talk about yourself like that. Not just in front of me, either. Don’t talk about yourself like that to _anyone_. Don’t _think_ about yourself like that. People don’t get to judge your emotional needs, and you shouldn’t judge them either. Okay?”

Adrien bit his lip and nodded uncertainly.

“Now, I know yesterday was an emotional quagmire for you. I know you asked me to make out with you to distract yourself from all that and to physically make yourself feel better. I know it had nothing to do with me or being attracted to me or whatever. Okay?” Luka paused for Adrien to confirm that they were still together on the same page.

Hesitantly, Adrien nodded.

“And…” Luka began to blush. His instinct was to look away, but he knew Adrien needed eye contact in order to believe Luka was being genuine, so he forced himself to keep meeting Adrien’s gaze. “…I was serious when I told you that I’d kiss you if you still wanted me to when you were sober.”

Adrien’s eyes went wide in surprise as his cheeks began to color. His lips parted ever so slightly.

Luka looked away, dropping his hands from Adrien’s face. “Okay, so I didn’t actually think you’d still want to when you were sober, so maybe I shouldn’t have made a promise like that so lightly, but I was serious, and I am serious, and—I mean, I can’t right now. Not today. I’d need to be wearing more clothing, and I can’t make out with you in my bed. That would be too—so no beds, but maybe leaning against a wall or-or in a more vertical position, but—”

Luka took a deep breath, held it, and let it out. He forced himself to look Adrien full in the face. He was surprised to find it an attractive pink color and wearing a pleasantly surprised expression.

Luka pushed his way forward. “What I’m trying to say is that if you really need to physically distract yourself from your problems like that, I think I can help you. I’m not one hundred percent positive I’ll be able to do it, but I’d be willing to try, if that was what you needed. I don’t want you just making out with whomever because you’re in mental turmoil, Adrien. I want you to be with someone who’s going to look out for you and take care of you. I don’t want you with someone who doesn’t care about you, so…” Luka ended lamely with a single-shoulder shrug.

A grateful smile spread slowly over Adrien’s lips. “You’re really wonderful, you know that?”

Luka’s blush deepened. Adrien made him _feel_ wonderful.

“Thank you,” Adrien added tenderly, genuinely touched. “There are very few people in my life who would be willing to go so far for me, so… You’re just really great, okay? I appreciate you.”

Luka smiled sheepishly, shrugging again. “Don’t thank me yet. Like I said, I’m not even sure if I really could make out with you platonically, but…I just want you to be safe, okay?”

Adrien nodded.

“So, if you need anything, just ask me,” Luka stressed. “Whatever it is.”

Adrien chewed lightly on his lip. “I’ll consider it. If things get really bad again and I’m feeling as desperate as I was last night…I just…don’t want to use you,” Adrien sighed softly in frustration. He shook his head. “I know you said relationships are give and take like that, but…” He bit his lip harder.

Luka reached out to tussle Adrien’s hair. “Hey.”

Adrien looked up.

“The only thing I can think of right now that would be completely and utterly screwing me over would be if you tricked me into being affectionate with you. It’s one thing if you ask for something and I give it to you, but don’t try to manipulate me into giving you more.”

Adrien’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t ever tell me you love me unless you mean it,” Luka clarified. “If I tell you no, I can’t do something with you, don’t tell me you love me to try to override the boundary I put in place.”

Adrien’s expression turned quizzical. He opened his mouth, but Luka spoke first.

“—I’m bi,” Luka explained, reasoning that the danger of the night had passed and that it would be safe to tell Adrien at that point now that he was more emotionally stable.

Adrien’s eyes widened.

“Don’t freak out,” Luka sighed. “Last night, nothing that I did or said was because you’re attractive. I swear I’m not just being nice in order to get something out of you. I’m not trying to trick or seduce you. I don’t have any devious ulterior motives. I honestly just want to be your friend.”

Adrien frowned, opened his mouth, and then closed it again.

Luka winced. “Okay. I know this looks bad, but I promise there was nothing romantic or sexual motivating any of this.”

“…So…you’re not attracted to me like that?” Adrien tentatively ventured.

Luka bit his lip. “Not unless you want me to be. I mean, you’ve seen yourself. You’re gorgeous. Of course I think you’re attractive, but there’s a difference between objectively being attracted to someone and actually acting on that attraction. I would never take advantage of you, Adrien. Nothing romantic happens between us unless you want it to…. It’s like how last night you were saying that you objectively knew Marinette was pretty, but you weren’t ever planning on doing anything with that.”

Adrien’s eyes widened as understanding dawned upon him. “Oooh. Okay. Got it.” He nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Luka tentatively inquired. “You…believe me? We’re good?”

Adrien frowned slightly. “Of course I believe you. Why would you lie to me?”

Luka couldn’t help an incredulous laugh. “Adrien, you’ve grown up with people trying to take advantage of you. I didn’t bring this up last night because I was afraid you would think I was just like all the rest. What reason have I given you to trust me?”

Adrien blinked, bewildered. “I mean, I realize I was kind of drunk last night, but I don’t think I imagined all of that. You taking care of me and all the nice things you said…you really meant all of it. I’ve had people trick me before, but for you to put up with everything last night…either you’re genuinely a kind person or you’ve got one heck of a long con going. I’m banking on the former.”

A hesitant smile slowly stretched across Adrien’s lips, looking like it was hoping for an answering grin from Luka.

Luka breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “Okay. Good. I was kind of worried you’d freak.” He combed a hand through his hair as he chuckled nervously. “Some guys learn that you’re bi and suddenly start acting like you’re some pervert just waiting for a chance to kiss them or something.”

Adrien’s face twisted into a scowl of incredulous disapproval. “Wait. Like, seriously? What the hell?”

Luka shrugged. “Some people feel threatened by non-straight people. You kind of get used to it, unfortunately.”

“That’s not something you should have to get used to,” Adrien muttered, crestfallen.

Luka’s lips twisted into a bittersweet smile. “You’re sweet, Angel, but the world’s not a very nice place sometimes.” He reached out to ruffle Adrien’s hair but stopped short.

“What’s wrong?” Adrien searched Luka’s face in concern.

Luka rolled his lips back over his teeth and bit down lightly. “Is this still okay? I thought…I mean, it’s conceivable that you might not want me touching you and calling you nicknames anymore.”

Adrien shook his head. “It’s okay. I don’t have a problem with it. As I take it you’ve noticed, I really like the attention. I like being touched. I like the affection, so…it doesn’t make a difference that you’re bi. That doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”

Luka nodded, relief flooding his face. “I’m glad you think so…. I was really afraid of making things weird.”

Adrien shook his head again reassuringly. “If nothing I’ve already done has made things weird between us, I think we’re safe….” His expression took on a serious air. “I get why you said what you said about me not trying to circumvent boundaries you put in place now, though.”

Luka nodded. “I’m pretty sure I’m capable of keeping things platonic between us. I mean, I’ve done it before with other friends, but, honestly, I’m not usually quite so affectionate with other people as I’ve been with you. You’re someone I could see myself falling for, so I’m a little concerned about blurring lines.”

Adrien’s mouth rounded into a little “o”. “Right. I guess, just let me know if I ever do something that makes you uncomfortable?”

“I will,” Luka assured. “You do the same, okay? We’ll make this work. I think it’ll be fine if we’re just honest with one another. This doesn’t have to be a big deal.”

A comfortable silence fell between them, and, in it, Adrien come to a realization.

He looked down at his state of dishabille and groaned.

Luka raised an eyebrow in concern. “Problem?”

“I am a colossal tease, aren’t I? Last night, I totally stripped in front of you, and, now, here I am in my boxers asking you to snuggle with me,” Adrien explained through a grimace.

Luka smiled in sympathy as he confessed, “You were a bit of a willpower challenge, but…would you feel better if I told you not to worry about it or if I turned it into a joke about enjoying having a supermodel do a striptease for me?”

Adrien laughed, shaking his head with a chagrined smile. “I’d feel better if you’d tell me the truth. As I sit here in my boxers, do I need to go put clothes on, or are we okay?”

“You’re okay, Adrien,” Luka stressed. “Okay, my brain may have melted a little when you took your shirt off and shimmied out of your pants last night, but…”

Adrien covered his face with his hands. “Oh my God.”

Luka pulled Adrien’s hands away and gave them a squeeze. “In all seriousness, this is fine for now. Next time we snuggle, it would be better if we had more clothes on, but don’t worry about any of the stuff that’s happened this time. We’ll call the past twelve hours ‘extenuating circumstances’ and just get on with it, okay?”

“ _Next time_ we snuggle?” Adrien blinked owlishly in disbelief.

Luka shrugged, looking away as he rubbed at the back of his neck. “I mean, if you even want to snuggle in the future.”

“No—I mean, I do. I would love to snuggle again. I just was a little surprised that snuggling was still on the table,” Adrien confessed, a light blush dusting his cheeks. “Isn’t it a little…” He pursed his lips. “I may be socially inept, but I know that guys our age don’t snuggle.”

“If we both feel like snuggling, why shouldn’t we snuggle?” Luka countered. “In my family, we don’t let societal norms dictate our actions much. Any time you want to snuggle, just ask.”

Adrien nodded, still looking a little uncertain.

“…How are you feeling?” Luka asked again, sensing a shift in Adrien’s mood.

Adrien bit his lip, lying back down. “Can we just stay here for a little while longer, or do we need to get up?”

Luka glanced at the wall clock. “It’s a little before ten now. Saturdays aren’t my day to cook, and breakfast should be around ten-thirty, so, if you want to shower or freshen up before seeing my family, we can probably still lie about for another ten or so minutes… You okay?” he inquired gently, settling back down beside Adrien.

Adrien made an ambivalent noise. “I’m a little anxious about going home. Either my father is going to be furious with me, ecstatic that I’m safe, or indifferent to my existence. I just don’t…I don’t think I’m ready for any of those reactions, so…”

“You don’t have to go home right away,” Luka informed. “I don’t have any plans today, so if you want to hang out here for the day, I’d be happy to have you.”

“Would you really?” Adrien looked at him with barely-concealed hope.

Luka laughed good-naturedly. “Yes, Angel. What do I have to do to convince you that I want you around? Kiss you? Or then would you think I was just interested in your body?”

Adrien chuckled softly, curling up on his side. “No.”

“Come on,” Luka teased, reaching out to stoke Adrien’s hair. “What do I have to do to prove I like you?”

“Hmm,” Adrien pretended to ponder as he leaned into Luka’s hand. “For starters, keep doing that.”

“Okay. What else?” Luka prompted, getting really well behind Adrien’s ear, making him arch his back and start to purr.

Adrien cracked one eye open. “Want to spend time with me again after I leave today.”

“Can do,” Luka promised, massaging Adrien’s scalp. “Anything else?”

Adrien’s eyes slipped closed with a content sigh. “Keep being this nice.”

“You’re easy to be nice to,” Luka whispered.

“Nuh-uh,” Adrien protested half-heartedly. “I’m needy and whiney and stubborn and difficult to deal with in general.”

“Lies,” Luka scoffed but then paused. “…Are you serious? Do you actually believe that about yourself, or are you just joking? I can’t tell.”

Adrien peered curiously into Luka’s concerned, cyan eyes. “It’s true. You just haven’t known me well long enough to tell.”

A deep frown carved itself into Luka’s brow. “No. I think you’re mistaken. Even if you acted the way you did last night all the time, I would never think those things about you.”

Adrien’s brow furrowed in total confusion. “You wouldn’t?”

“No,” Luka insisted. “Adrien, just because you have needs, that doesn’t make you needy. Needy is when you already have enough but still demand more unnecessary stuff. You’re not needy. You’re—”

A victim of neglect. But Luka didn’t want to throw the “v” word around carelessly. He didn’t want to make Adrien feel helpless and powerless in his situation with that label.

“—You’re not needy,” Luka repeated. “And you’re not whiney. Stubborn, maybe, but not in a bad way. Sometimes it’s a good thing to dig your heels in and stick to your guns. So long as you don’t go all ‘my way or the highway’ about every little thing, stubbornness can be good. As for ‘difficult to deal with’…Adrien, that’s ridiculous. _Chloé Bourgeois_ is difficult to deal with. …Where exactly is all this coming from?”

Adrien shifted uncomfortably, pressing entreatingly into Luka’s hand in an attempt to get it to resume its ministrations. “What do you mean?”

“People don’t just wake up one day thinking ‘I’m whiney and needy and difficult’. What made you think those things about yourself? Did someone tell you that, or how did you decide those things? Where are those thoughts coming from?”

Adrien chewed pensively on his lip. “I mean…I don’t know. It’s just…true. Everyone thinks so. Everyone says so.”

“Who’s everyone?” Luka inquired in a curious tone, trying to challenge the assertion without coming across as confrontational.

Adrien searched his memories for an example. For the most part, he came up blank except… “…My father.”

Luka’s expression turned grave as he forced down the vitriol welling up within him. “Your father,” he echoed levelly. “Your _father_? He didn’t actually _say_ that crap to you, did he?”

Luka couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t imagine Adrien behaving in a way that would merit his own father saying such hurtful, cruel things. He couldn’t believe that Gabriel even knew what he was talking about. It didn’t sound like the senior Agreste was around enough to be an authority.

“No, of course not,” Adrien rushed to assure. “Well, okay. He’s told me dozens of times that I’m stubborn, but…it’s more that he says things like, ‘Adrien, you know how busy I am. I don’t have time to eat dinner with you or watch a movie or play a card game or go on a family vacation. Don’t be needy. It’s unbecoming’,” Adrien parroted in a facsimile of his father’s voice and tone. “Or he’ll say, ‘Adrien, I’ve already told you no. Your whining is undignified and unworthy of an Agreste’.”

Adrien studied Luka’s shocked, horrified expression nervously. “He’s never told me that I’m difficult. Well, I mean, he has told me to stop being difficult sometimes, but he hasn’t straight out told me that I’m difficult. It’s more…just the way he sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose and just…looks so put out whenever he has to deal with me, so…I just got the impression that I was difficult. He would never say mean things like that to me,” Adrien explained, doing his best to excuse his father’s behavior, to make Luka understand. “He _is_ very busy, and I _am_ needy, and I _do_ whine a lot, so…I _am_ difficult.”

“No, Angel,” Luka whispered. “You are no such thing. Your father…”

Is cruel and thoughtless and dismissive and neglectful and verbally abusive…but it would only crush Adrien’s heart to say so, leaving Gabriel Agreste unharmed when all Luka wanted to do was rip that man into a thousand pieces with his bare hands for what he had unwittingly done to Adrien.

“…is mistaken,” Luka gently completed. “Adrien, you’re sweet and-and wonderful. You’re…you’re a good kid. Don’t think bad things about yourself no matter what anyone else says,” Luka cooed. “…Come here, Perfect Fifth.”

He gently put his arms around Adrien, pulling him into his chest.

Adrien melted like a giant cat into the embrace, beginning to purr quietly as Luka resumed petting Adrien’s hair and running a hand up and down Adrien’s back.

Luka’s protective instincts were kicking in. He wanted to rip Adrien away from his domineering father and his cold, sepulchral mansion and his demanding life of empty fame with a judgmental public and no privacy. He wanted to make Adrien feel loved and appreciated. He wanted to make Adrien feel good about himself.

Juleka had always teased Luka for being such a softie with a perpetually bleeding heart, but Luka couldn’t help it. When he saw someone hurting or in trouble, he felt a pull to help that he couldn’t fight. His natural inclination was to give of himself, make it better.

The fact that Adrien was an undeniably adorable human being and, frankly, physically irresistible, only made Luka all the more eager and willing to try to make all of Adrien’s problems go away.

Time gradually crawled by, and when Adrien next looked up to check the wall clock, it was time to get ready to have breakfast with the Couffaines.

“We should get up,” Adrien sighed into Luka’s collarbone, nuzzling.

Luka’s brain went to mush. For a minute, the only thought it was capable of producing was, “Ngh”, followed slowly by, “How am I ever going to manage to take care of him and give him the love he needs while keeping things platonic?”

“I don’t want to get up,” Adrien grumbled, giving a stretch.

“You’re free to make yourself at home in my bed for as long as you like, but, I warn you, eventually, people are going to start talking about us,” Luka finally found his voice to tease.

Adrien groaned against Luka’s skin before reluctantly pushing himself up to sitting. He smiled sheepishly down at his companion. “I would never do that to you. You deserve to have people talking about you because you’re a great musician, not because I got you caught up in some scandal.”

Luka sat up, catching Adrien’s hand. “It wouldn’t be a scandal, no matter what other people said.” He eyed the surprised blonde intently. “If we _were_ in a relationship and the media had a problem with it, that’s on them, not us. Admittedly, you have more experience in this field than I do, but I’d like to think that they’d get bored and go away once they saw how unrepentantly in love we were.”

Adrien rolled his eyes with a bright laugh.

“That goes for anyone you date who the media doesn’t like,” Luka insisted, giving Adrien’s hand a squeeze before letting go. “Being in love is never a scandal.”

Adrien shrugged. “You’ll see how it really is the first time the paparazzi catch me hanging off of you and make something out of it that it isn’t. We’ll see if you still want to be friends after they rummage through your personal life and butt into your family’s business.”

“I think you’re catastrophizing,” Luka snorted softly.

Adrien shook his head. “They’ve done it to Nino.”

“And yet you’re still friends,” Luka countered.

“Fair point,” Adrien admitted, shifting so that his legs dangled over the side of the bed. “We’ll see…. In the meantime, you wouldn’t happen to have a spare toothbrush I could borrow, would you?”

“I think there are a couple in the hall closet. I’ll get you one.” Luka pushed off the covers and followed Adrien to his feet.

Adrien shivered as they left the warmth of the bed behind. “I should have taken you up on the offer to move into your bed permanently. It’s cold out here.”

Luka snickered, rubbing Adrien’s arms vigorously. “Would you like to borrow the shower, or do you want to wait until you get home to your luxury bathroom?”

Adrien stuck out his tongue and whapped Luka on the arm. “If you don’t mind, I’ll shower here.”

“Through that door,” Luka pointed to the far wall, opposite his bed. “A year ago, Maman decided I deserved a bathroom that I didn’t have to share with a houseful of women, so you don’t have to worry about anyone walking in on you. Everything in there is mine; feel free to borrow whatever. Towels are in the cabinet above the sink. I’ll go get you a toothbrush, and then I’m going to go let my family know you’re here, okay?”

“Sounds like a plan. Thank you,” Adrien replied gratefully.

“Do you want to borrow a fresh change of clothes or just put the ones you wore last night back on? I think I have some that would fit you,” Luka offered.

Adrien shook his head and grimaced. “I should probably be wearing _Gabriel_ when I get home. I don’t want my father’s first thought when he sees me to be ‘Who are you wearing’.”

“Ah.” Luka joined in Adrien’s grimace. “The hazards of having a fashion designer for a father…. All right. Is there anything else you can think of that you need?”

“I should be good. Thank you.”

“You can let me know if you change your mind when I bring in the toothbrush. I’m going to change out here and then head to the main cabin. Go ahead and join us when you’re ready,” Luka instructed as Adrien headed into the bathroom.

Luka agonized over his wardrobe for a few minutes before giving up. Adrien had seen Luka in his boxers, and the guy worked in fashion. There was literally no way Luka was going to impress Adrien with his sartorial choices at this point. So long as Luka didn’t dress like a total slob, whatever he put on would be more or less irrelevant.

Thus, Luka pulled on a pair of distressed, dark wash jeans and a tight-fitting, burgundy band t-shirt. He accessorized with a scarf and a thick leather bracelet before calling it a day and hoping that he looked suitably put together while still seeming to have rolled out of bed looking that fabulous.

He didn’t think Adrien would notice.

He really hoped Adrien noticed.

Luka blew out a long sigh and reminded himself sternly, “Adrien doesn’t like boys.”

A little voice in the back of his head whispered, “But Adrien was willing enough to make out with a boy. Maybe he’s not entirely straight after all. Maybe he can be persuaded to give boys a chance…give _you_ a chance.”

Luka went to fetch one of the extra toothbrushes from the hall closet. He delivered it and finished his own freshening up before grabbing his phone to check for messages and heading to the main cabin.

The text from Juleka waiting for Luka when he woke his screen made him freeze in the doorway: “WTF?! u x-ed aa?! WTH?!”

Luka groaned deeply and banged his head against the doorjamb twice for good measure.

Juleka must have come in to get Luka up and found Adrien looking comfy in Luka’s arms. Luka would need to set the record straight before Rose got overly excited and announced to the world at large that Luka was x-ing Adrien.

He hurried to the main living space as a wave of dread washed over him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Luka. I really tortured him this chapter, didn't I? He's holding up remarkably well. Kudos to him.
> 
> I had fun with the Plagg and Luka part. It's always so nice to write Plagg. What did you think of their interaction?
> 
> Did you have a favourite part or a favourite line? Least favourite part or a part that didn't work for you? Originally, I wasn't going to have Adrien find out that Luka was bi until much later, but this seemed like a natural and safe enough time. What did you think of that scene?
> 
> Thanks for reading guys! I hope to see you all on Monday, 09/02/2019 for the next (final?) installment.
> 
> ANNOUNCEMENT: So, I'm sure you've noticed that the chapter count keeps creeping up on this. An important fact to learn: Historically, Mikau unintentionally lies about how long things are going to be. In my heart of hearts, I truly believed that this was going to be an eight-thousand-word one-shot. A month later, my best guess is five chapters. It might turn into five chapters and an epilogue. I am reaching the finish line, though. Except, I've made some decisions, and there's going to be a sequel called Late to the Jabberwocky. 
> 
> I've mentioned before that this piece can be taken to be in the same universe as my Adrienette story There's a Daisy. Daisy was getting some Lukadrien elements to it, and I got the sense that the Adrienette readers mainly wanted Adrienette, but I still wanted to write the Lukadrien aspects of the story that I had in mind. I've decided to break out most of the Lukadrien scenes I had planned for Daisy and make them into their own story: Late to the Jabberwocky. Jabberwocky will be set two years after Phantasmagoria (except for the first chapter or two which will take place a few months after Phantasmagoria) when Adrien is eighteen and Luka is twenty. Jabberwocky will be almost entirely Lukadrien with some Lukadrienette mixed in. If you want, you can read just Jabberwocky without having to have read Daisy. I'll include notes with the pertinent Daisy information so that you don't miss anything.
> 
> This will probably make the update schedules for both Jabberwocky and Daisy wonky, but I'm going to do my best to make things flow smoothly. You'll at least get regular updates of something. Anyway. The plan is for Phantasmagoria to conclude in the next chapter or so, and then there will be about two chapters of Jabberwocky that follow Phantasmagoria chronologically. After that, I'll include the Lukadrien content from Daisy as the next two chapters of Jabberwocky in a bit of an edited and annotated version so that readers of Jabberwocky don't have to read Daisy. Next, I will jump back into Daisy for a bit until I get to the next Lukadrien scene I chronologically had planned, and then I will go back and forth between Daisy and Jabberwocky, writing the scenes in chronological order until I get to the end. Wish me luck because I have the feeling that this is going to be like directing air traffic. ^.^
> 
> References:  
> Habanera from Carmen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSsNFPk2vNA


	5. That strain again!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien meets the Couffaines. Rose ships it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and Happy Saturday! I know this isn't one of my regularly scheduled update days, but I'm splitting what was going to be Chapter Five into two chapters, so I thought I'd post this part now and then the other part on Tuesday 09/03/2019.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who's reading this. Thank you especially to those supporting me with comments, kudos, and bookmarks. You all make me so happy!
> 
> Enjoy!

Luka trudged into the main cabin and was met by a wolf whistle, a squeal of delight, and a vague mumble of congratulations.

Anarka, who was lounging on the couch, gave a whoop and hopped up to clap her son on the back. “Good morning, Champ! How was it? You’ve only been dying to do that for two years. Was he worth the wait?” she teased.

Before Luka could correct the misunderstanding, Juleka looked up from where she had been chopping vegetables for the omelets and brandished the knife at him, grumbling, “In your haste to bang a supermodel, you forgot to tie a scarf around the doorknob. I walked in to get your lazy butt up and found you all intertwined with Adrien Agreste, of all people. What if you two had still been canoodling?” Juleka groused. “I would have been scarred for life. Don’t forget next time he spends the night, Luc. We have these procedures in place for a reason. I mean, you wouldn’t want to walk in on Rose and me naked, would you?”

Luka opened his mouth only to be cut off by Rose as she practically swooned in the middle of mixing the pancake batter. “Poor Marinette, but it’s so romantic how you managed to sweep Adrien off of his feet, Luka. I’ve always thought you two were adorable together from the moment you met. You should have seen the look on your face when he tripped into that keyboard. It was love,” Rose announced, pastel pink flowers blooming all around her.

Luka groaned, hiding his face in his hands, because however mistaken Rose might have been in that moment, she wasn’t wrong, and that somehow made the mix-up all the worse.

“Are you two dating now?” Juleka interrupted. “Is this going to be a regular thing? I kind of don’t want paparazzi hanging around trying to get pictures of you guys making out.”

“Juleka!” Rose scolded. “Don’t sound so put out! Adrien and Luka are in love, and we need to support them! They’re family.”

“If any gossip-rag-rats start skulking about, I’ll show them what’s what,” Anarka assured. “You and your boyfriend don’t have anything to worry about.” She smiled gently, clapping her son on the shoulder.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Luka finally got room to blurt out.

The three women blinked.

“That’s…unusual for you,” Anarka remarked, quirking an eyebrow.

Juleka frowned. “Yeah, since when do you randomly hook up with people?”

“It’s because it’s Adrien.” Rose nodded sagely. “Love is making Luka do crazy, reckless things.”

Again, she wasn’t necessarily wrong.

“Guys, _nothing_ happened,” Luka tried to explain.

Juleka laughed heartily. “Luc, when I walked in this morning, you were snuggling with a naked model. _Something_ had to have happened.”

“We both had on boxers,” Luka feebly informed.

“No passionate love making with wild abandon?” Rose whimpered as if Luka had just arbitrarily cancelled birthdays and Valentine’s.

“I wish,” Luka snorted, running a hand through his hair. “Just completely platonic snuggling. Adrien’s straight.”

Juleka let out a spontaneous snort of laughter.

“He can’t be!” Rose whined. “You two are in love!”

“Half of us are in love,” Luka muttered ruefully. “Against our better judgment and partially against our will.”

“Luka, no straight guy cuddles with another guy in boxers like that,” Juleka scoffed, waving the knife dismissively.

“Just wait,” Rose encouraged. “Give it a few weeks. One night you two are going to be sitting up on deck gazing at the stars while you serenade him, and he’s going to fall into your arms. It’s only a matter of time.”

“That’s not going to happen, Rose,” Luka groaned, scrubbing at his face with both hands. He didn’t want to get his hopes up only to be crushed when reality hit.

“Luka, I think I know what I’m talking about,” Rose chuckled, going back to stirring the pancake batter. “I know a meet-cute when I see one, and—”

“—Okay, stop,” Luka broke in tersely in his frustration. “I’m not going to argue about this because there’s no point. The important thing for the moment is that _nothing_ happened last night, and, right now and for the foreseeable future, Adrien is just a _friend_. Do not tease him. Do not imply otherwise. Got it?” Luka bit savagely.

Three pairs of eyes gazed warily at Luka.

“Everything okay, Bro?” Juleka hummed.

“You’re a little worked up,” Anarka observed, sinking back down onto the couch.

Luka took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry. Just stressed. Things with Adrien are kind of precarious at this point, and I am extremely concerned about screwing up. I don’t need help making things messy, so…” He shrugged helplessly, going to lean up against the back of the couch. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay, Lulu,” Rose cooed, setting the spatula down and coming over to scratch fondly behind Luka’s ear. “What can we do to help?”

Luka grinned lopsidedly and leaned in to kiss Rose on the top of the head. “Have I told you lately that you’re my favourite sister?”

“On Wednesday when I stole your purple nail polish,” Juleka snickered, setting down the knife and coming over to sit cross-legged on the couch.

“I still need that back,” Luka reminded.

Juleka snorted and smirked. “You never use it.”

“It’s still mine.”

“Possession is nine-tenths of the law,” Juleka retorted. “I have it; therefore, it is mine.”

Luka frowned. “But…I need purple to complete my collection.”

Juleka rolled her eyes. “You should have said something when I loudly announced that I was stealing it. That’s kind of how stealing works, Luc. You should be grateful that I was courteous enough to announce my theft. Most thieves don’t do that.”

Luka frowned harder and turned to Anarka. “Maman.”

Anarka laughed a full-bodied chuckle. “Don’t look at me. Weren’t you talking about something important?”

“About Adrien?” Rose reminded.

Luka sighed and nodded. “Okay. …None of this leaves this room, yeah?”

The three women nodded.

Luka gave them a quick rundown of how he had bumped into Adrien the previous evening, the anniversary of Adrien’s mother’s disappearance, Adrien’s father’s absenteeism, and Adrien’s resulting mental state. He skimmed over the personal details Adrien had trusted him with but told his family enough to give them an idea of the extent of the problem.

“He was really rough last night, and he obviously needs a friend. I want him to feel like he can count on us; he doesn’t have anyone like that in his life right now. He doesn’t get the support he needs at home, and it doesn’t sound like he feels comfortable talking to his friends about what he’s going through. I want this to be a safe place for him.”

“Absolutely.” Anarka nodded. “That shouldn’t be a problem. Right, girls?”

“Right, Capitaine!” Rose cheered enthusiastically.

Juleka nodded. “We’ll be good. Leave it to Rose to mother him.”

“Thanks,” Luka sighed in relief. “He’s just…so alone. Life hasn’t been fair to him, and his father sounds like a total lowlife. Adrien’s such a sweet kid. He’s smart, and he’s good and obedient, but his father is constantly belittling him and tearing him down. When he isn’t, he’s neglecting Adrien. It sounds like verbal and emotional abuse, honestly, but I know there’s not much we can do about that. I mean, he loves his dad. He doesn’t know he’s being abused, and it would only hurt him and drive a wedge between _us_ if I tried to get him out of that situation or tried to tell him that his father should be in jail for what he’s doing to him.”

Rose and Juleka nodded in silent horror.

Anarka just looked grave.

“I think the best thing I can do is just be there for Adrien and show him that what he’s used to isn’t normal and isn’t right. I want to show him that there’s a better way and that he can have it,” Luka outlined.

“You want to adopt him,” Rose realized. “Like how you adopted me.”

Luka nodded and turned to his mother. “Can we be his new family?”

“Of course we can!” Anarka roared confidently, drawing all three of her children into a rowdy group hug.

They broke away laughing, and the girls slowly made their way back to the kitchen to resume breakfast prep.

Anarka turned to Luka and motioned with her chin. “Join me on deck for a second?”

Luka nodded and followed Anarka’s lead. “Problem?” he guessed as she led him up to the settee in the greenhouse area on the upper deck.

Anarka shook her head. “You tell me.” Her ice blue eyes pierced through her son. “You doing okay?”

Luka shrugged. “I don’t know. Haven’t really had time to think about it yet.”

“Must have been a rough night,” Anarka prompted.

“Yes and no.” Luka carded a hand through his hair. “Having to exert that kind of self-control…not fun, but not the end of the world. Spending time with him, though…” Luka sighed happily. “…It was hard to let go of him this morning.”

Anarka nodded. “…Luka?”

Luka looked up into his mother’s concerned gaze.

“You don’t usually throw the ‘L’ word around casually. I know Rose started it, saying you two were in love, and it kind of sounded like you were just rolling with what she said, saying that you were the only one in love, but…are you really in love with Adrien, do you think?” she asked tentatively.

Luka blew out a long exhale, fiddling with his scarf as he looked out at the Seine. “If I’m not already, I think I will be soon if I spend any amount of time with him,” he confessed. “It would be an easy cliff to fall off of, honestly. He’s so…” Luka sighed, shaking his head. “I am utterly infatuated, completely taken with him, and so totally screwed.”

Anarka winced in sympathy. “How positive are you that he’s straight?”

Luka bit his lip. “He’s currently in unrequited love with a girl. I know that for sure. There’s a small chance that he might be bi, but…I don’t know, Maman. It’s not something I want to risk my heart or my friendship with Adrien over.”

“That’s probably wise,” Anarka agreed. “Do you think you’re going to be okay, Luc?”

Luka smiled weakly. “I don’t know. I’ve managed to be friends with people I had crushes on before. I’m not sure how this is going to work, trying to be his emotional support system and make up for all the affection he’s not getting, but…we’ll see.”

“Just be careful,” Anarka advised. “You get so attached, and I don’t want to see you hurt.”

She would never forget how worried she’d been when Luka first got his heart broken and stayed holed up in his room, not eating, for what seemed like weeks and weeks on end.

“Thanks, Maman.” Luka touched her on the arm gratefully.

They made their way back down to the main cabin to find Rose and Juleka showing Adrien how to make an omelet.

“Like this,” Juleka was saying, guiding Adrien’s hands to lift up the side of the omelet with the spatula and let the liquid run under the part that had already set.

“Now, just don’t let it burn,” Rose counseled.

“What are the two of you doing making the guest work?” Anarka snorted good-naturedly.

“He asked us to show him, Capitaine,” Rose explained.

“And, technically, I believe I’m a stowaway, not a guest,” Adrien chuckled sheepishly. “Sorry to show up without an invitation, Capitaine.”

“Nonsense,” Anarka snorted, stepping to the side so that Luka could pass and make his way over to Adrien. “Welcome aboard the Liberty, Adrien. We’re happy to have you. Make yourself at home any time, and please tell me you’re staying for breakfast.”

“If you’ll have me,” Adrien answered nervously. “I wouldn’t want to be any trouble.”

“You’re no trouble at all,” Juleka mumbled.

“We’d love it if you’d stay for breakfast,” Rose added.

“There you have it,” Anarka announced in a tone that said things had been settled.

“What do you want to eat?” Luka asked, coming up behind Adrien to rest his hands on Adrien’s hips.

A gentle smile spread across Adrien’s lips as he shrugged. “I’ll eat anything you put in front of me.”

“But what do you _want_?” Luka repeated, reaching around Adrien to take ahold of the skillet and flip the omelet before it could burn.

“I usually have oatmeal or yogurt or fruit or avocado toast. Honestly, whatever everyone else is eating is fine,” Adrien insisted.

“Omelet and pancakes it is,” Rose announced. “Though, I’m making breakfast sausage in a minute, and there should be enough for you to have some of that if you want it.”

“Rose is a carnivore,” Juleka chuckled fondly, sprinkling cheese on one side of the omelet and then stealing the spatula from Adrien to fold the omelet in half.

“I don’t really care for meat much,” Adrien admitted. “Thank you, though.”

“No wonder you’re so skinny.” Rose clicked her tongue disapprovingly. “You and Luka take this omelet and go start eating. Pancakes will be up in a minute.”

Luka tugged Adrien over to where Anarka had reestablished herself on the couch. “Do you want first omelet, Maman?”

Anarka chuckled. “I already had first omelet, M’dear. Adrien, you go ahead.”

“Thank you, Capitaine.” Adrien turned to Luka. “You’re sure?”

Luka waved away Adrien’s concern. “I’ll get the next one. You’re the one who didn’t get a proper dinner last night.” He stage-whispered conspiratorially to his mother, “We had ice cream and some of the madeleines Marinette brought for me.”

Anarka snorted. “That sounds like a proper dinner to me. Be careful, though. His father is never going to let him come over again if he finds out what a bad influence you’re being.”

“Who’s going to tell him?” Luka challenged.

“Not I.” Adrien mimed zipping his lips and throwing away the key.

“Good boy!” Anarka laughed, clapping Adrien on the shoulder.

Adrien bit his lip. “Bad boy, I’m afraid. My father is going to be furious when he finds out what I’ve been up to.”

“I reiterate: who’s going to tell him?” Luka gently nudged Adrien’s arm.

Adrien exhaled glumly. “He always finds out somehow.”

Luka pressed a fork into Adrien’s hand. “Worry about that later, Angel. For now, just eat breakfast.”

Adrien looked down at his plate and sighed again.

Anarka caught Luka’s eye, arched a brow, and quizzically mouthed, “‘Angel’?”

Luka smiled sheepishly with a look in his eyes that told Anarka that he knew just how far gone he was and wasn’t altogether sorry about it.

“Sorry,” Adrien muttered obliviously. “I’m just dreading going home.”

Luka and Anarka snapped back to attention.

“What?” Anarka frowned intently. “Why?”

Adrien chewed aimlessly on his lip, reluctantly looking up to meet her gaze. “I don’t know how much Luka told you about my circumstances, but…?” He waited for her to reply.

Anarka shook her head. “Luka briefly mentioned that you were having some family drama that you needed to get away from. He wasn’t very specific.” Her eyes sharpened. “Adrien, are you safe at home?”

Adrien blinked, completely taken aback by the question. “What? Y-Yes. Of course. No one’s hurting me—I mean, no more so than what any other model goes through for work. I’m not in any danger. I just…my father is probably going to lock me in my room when I get home and take away my going out privileges. I snuck out last night. He doesn’t know where I am.”

Anarka’s eyes and mouth widened into astonished “O”s. She nodded. “I see. Should you call or text him?”

Adrien shifted uncomfortably. “I’m not ready to talk to him yet. We had a fight last night…. Besides, I left my phone at home so he couldn’t track me.”

Luka placed a reassuring hand on Adrien’s shoulder. “You don’t have to go home until you’re ready. Right, Maman?” Luka looked hopefully at Anarka.

Anarka did not disappoint. “Adrien, you’re welcome here any time you like. Even if Luka’s not home, you stop on by whenever you want, and you’re welcome, okay?”

Adrien looked up uncertainly, puzzled by the Couffaines’ hospitality.

“She actually means that.” Luka nudged Adrien’s arm again, giving him an encouraging smile. “And you should definitely take her up on that offer. Now, eat your omelet before it gets cold. Seriously. Don’t make me feed you.”

“You should definitely make him feed you!” Rose trilled in delight. “It would be adorable!”

Luka glared over the back of the wraparound sofa at his sister. “Rosette, my love, remember what we talked about before?”

Rose had the decency to blush and offer a sheepish, “Sorry”.

Adrien quirked an eyebrow curiously.

Luka shook his head, explaining, “Rose thinks we make a cute couple. Please ignore her. If she says anything that makes you uncomfortable, feel free to tell her to stop. If you don’t feel comfortable telling her yourself, tell me, and I’ll talk to her about it. Same goes for any of the rest of us, okay? We want you to feel at ease here.”

Adrien nodded. “Thanks, but I don’t mind. Alya always jokes about how I’m the ‘other woman’ in her relationship with Nino, so I’m kind of used to being teased about my supposed ‘boyfriend’. Unless it bothers you, Rose can coo and tease all she wants.”

Rose did a celebratory dance, accidentally flinging pancake batter onto Juleka’s cheek. “Oops. Sorry, Juju.”

Juleka sighed, shaking her head fondly as she wiped the batter off with her finger.

Rose abducted the finger and popped it into her mouth, smiling around the digit.

Juleka burst out laughing. “I’m gonna have to wash that now, Honey.”

Rose began to giggle as well.

“Am _I_ allowed to tease _you guys_ about what a cute couple you are?” Adrien wondered with a smirk.

“Absolutely!” Rose cheered, flipping over the pancakes on the griddle.

“Oh, dear,” Luka sighed. “Well, at least you’re taking this better than I had expected.”

“He fits right in,” Anarka observed.

Juleka snickered, bringing over another omelet and setting it down in front of Luka. “Adrien, are you sure you don’t want to date my brother? You’re, like, a dozen times better than the last three people he’s gone out with combined.”

“Juliet,” Luka snapped as he switched the omelet in front of Adrien out for the fresher one.

“What?” Juleka snorted. “That psycho witch Victoire was totally a homophobe, Veronique was only pretending to like jazz because she wanted to sleep with you, and Babette was super needy and whiney.”

Adrien tensed, his shoulders rising up to his ears at the words “needy” and “whiney”.

Luka wrapped an arm around Adrien, Luka’s thumb rubbing reassuringly up and down Adrien’s upper arm.

“Juleka,” Luka repeated more gently, but his tone still issued a warning.

“I’m just saying that I like Adrien. You could do a lot worse.” Juleka shrugged unrepentantly.

“Thank you,” Luka remarked dryly. “I’ll take it under advisory.” He turned back to Adrien. “You okay?”

Adrien nodded. “Thanks.”

“Good,” Luka sighed, cutting into his own omelet. “Now, eat.”

Adrien smirked and then opened his mouth. “Ah.”

“Oh, dear lord,” Luka chuckled, shaking his head. He held out a bite for Adrien. “You realize that you are now officially asking to be teased mercilessly. You’ve brought this upon yourself, and I will not pity you in the future.”

Adrien smiled around the fork in his mouth, feeling as if he really did fit in with the Couffaines after all.

The rest of breakfast was a relatively uneventful affair. 

Rose cooed as Adrien fed Luka a bite of his pancakes while they waited for Luka’s to be done.

Adrien cooed as Rose pulled Juleka’s hair up out of the way to keep her from getting syrup in it and took the opportunity to kiss Juleka on the neck.

Luka remained chagrined the entire time as he tried to stop himself from imagining a lifetime of family breakfasts like that one.

Anarka just laughed at the children’s antics, periodically teasing them all in turns, indiscriminately.

After they’d finished, Adrien insisted on helping with cleanup despite freely admitting that he didn’t have the first clue about what happened to dishes and table scraps after they had been whisked away at the completion of a meal.

Rose took it upon herself to cure his ignorance, walking him through the process of storing leftovers (the existence of which was a new concept for Adrien), clearing the plate, pre-rinsing, soaping, scrubbing, rinsing, sanitizing, and drying.

“And you do this after _every_ meal?” Adrien frowned as he scrubbed at the remains of a glob of maple syrup.

“You have to,” Rose explained patiently, “otherwise, the food gets crusted on there, making it harder to get off and attracting bugs. You can’t ever let dishes sit for too long.”

“This is a lot of work,” Adrien observed, handing Rose the finished plate and moving on to the next one. “Wouldn’t it be easier to get a dishwasher?”

All of the others chuckled at this for varying lengths of time and at varying volumes, causing Adrien to frown.

“What? Did I say something weird?”

Luka shook his head. “No, Angel. We’re not laughing at you.”

“ _I’m_ laughing at you,” Juleka teased with a wink.

Luka shot her a quick glare before returning his fond, reassuring gaze to Adrien. “It’s just cute how rich you are.”

Adrien’s expression turned to distress. “What? What do you mean?”

“Adrien, do you know how much a dishwasher costs?” Rose chuckled.

Adrien shook his head. “Is it a lot?”

Anarka laughed as she enumerated, “For the amount it would cost to buy the thing, have it installed, pay the bill for the water and electricity it uses, and keep the detergent it needs stocked, it’s cheaper to wash the dishes yourself. Besides, having to do chores builds character and makes you more responsible.”

“Oh,” Adrien replied sheepishly, cheeks turning pink. “Sorry. I’ve never had to think about that before.”

Anarka waved dismissively. “Don’t worry about it, Adrien. How are you supposed to know if no one ever tells you? Don’t ever worry about asking a stupid question or sounding dumb.”

An ironic bark of laughter escaped Adrien’s throat, surprising even him. He blushed, shoulders scrunching up to his ears so that he resembled a turtle trying to retreat into his shell. “Sorry. It’s just…in my family, asking stupid questions and sounding dumb are mortal sins that damn your soul to burn in hell for all eternity.”

There was a beat of silence during which Anarka’s eye twitched. The corner of her mouth followed suit.

Rose blinked in confusion. “Was that a joke?”

Adrien blinked, and then a polite smile slammed down over whatever he was actually feeling. He chuckled sheepishly. “Yes, of course. Because that’s ridiculous, isn’t it? Sorry. I’m not very funny, am I?”

“You’re fine,” Juleka rushed to assure, not quite certain she believed that he had been joking. “I have a pretty black sense of humor, so don’t worry about it.”

Rose nodded in agreement. “Juleka jokes about kidnapping and torturing people, and I get really hyper and annoying. We each have our quirks. I’m sure we’ll all get used to one another soon, though.”

Some of the plasticity wore off of Adrien’s smile, making it look almost real. “Thank you, guys.” He turned to Anarka. “And thank _you_ …for letting me ask stupid questions and not making me feel dumb.”

“Any time,” Anarka stressed with a wink.

Luka came over to gently take the plate Adrien was working on away. “All right, Angel. Enough washing dishes.”

“But I was just getting the hang of it,” Adrien pouted, reaching for the plate.

Luka shook his head, taking over dishwashing duty. “Your hands are going to get pruney. You’re a talented musician; it would be a crime to let that happen.”

Adrien rolled his eyes, hands going to his hips. “And are _you_ not a talented musician as well? What about _your_ hands?”

Luka shrugged. “Your hands are worth more than mine.”

Adrien scoffed openly. “Falsities.”

Rose put a hand over her mouth to stifle a thrilled giggle.

Juleka and Anarka wore twin grins of amusement.

“Oh? And how much are your hands insured for, Monsieur Adrien freaking Agreste, supermodel (trademark)?” Luka challenged.

“Registered trademark,” Adrien corrected sulkily. “And I’m not saying. You know, they _are_ insured, whereas yours are not. Doesn’t that mean that I should be the one getting my hands pruney?”

Rose gave a snort.

Luka smirked. “Why don’t you try your hand at drying dishes for now? You can wash more the next time you’re over. If you’re extra good, maybe one of us will teach you how to use a vacuum cleaner as a bonus.”

Adrien hesitantly looked up, meeting the gazes of the other Couffaines. “You all would really want to have me over again?”

“Adrien, we like you,” Rose insisted, coming to hang off of his arm.

Juleka nodded her assent.

“Of course we want you to come over again,” Anarka added. “Any time.”

Their sincerity made Adrien feel a bit choked up. He smiled broadly at each of them in turn, gratitude overflowing in his eyes. He opened his mouth to thank them a moment or so later when he felt more sure of his voice, but Juleka and Rose’s phones chose that moment to go off.

The quintet blinked in unison, and Juleka and Rose went to their respective devices.

Rose winced. “It looks like they know you’re missing,” she reported. “They’re sending around a blast text asking if anyone’s seen you.”

Adrien crumpled in on himself in dread. “I’m sorry. I won’t ask you guys to lie for me, but would it be too much to ask that you just not reply? I’ll finish helping to clean up, and then I’ll go home.”

“We wouldn’t rat you out like that,” Juleka snorted indignantly before turning to her girlfriend. “Right, Rose?”

“Absolutely!” Rose cheered, punching her fist into the air in a display of determination and fervor.

“Thank you,” Adrien sighed in relief.

“Are you sure you’re ready to go home?” Luka pressed, making certain that Adrien knew he was under no obligation to leave. “You don’t have to go until you’re ready. _Really_. Stay as long as you want.”

Adrien shook his head regretfully. “I don’t want to cause a fuss. If my family is bothering my acquaintances trying to find me, I should go home sooner rather than later. My father will only get worse the more time that passes, and I don’t want him doing a house-by-house search of my friends’ homes, accusing people of hiding me and ransacking their stuff. He’d probably hit up Nino’s first, and I don’t want him accidentally damaging Nino’s equipment.”

Luka grimaced. “Okay. If that’s what you’ve decided, I’ll walk you home after dishes.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Adrien assured, waving away the offer.

“I’m insisting,” Luka informed in a tone that brooked no argument. “I want to make sure you get home safely. That was part of the deal, wasn’t it? Raoul at the bar made me promise to get you home safe. I can’t go back on my word now…so I’ll walk you home.”

“…Okay,” Adrien relented, a shy smile taking over his lips. “Thank you.” He really didn’t know how to properly convey everything he was feeling, the depth of his appreciation for the radical hospitality he had been shown, in words, so he let his eyes do the talking for him.

Luka got the message loud and clear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do we think of Anarka, Juleka, and Rose? I felt completely out of my element writing their characters, honestly. It was a fun challenge, though, and I think that, by the end, I found my footing a little. What did you think?
> 
> I think Anarka would be a really chaotic parent, letting her kids do pretty much whatever they wanted so long as it didn't pose a major risk to themselves or others, but it also seems like she really loves her kids, so I doubt she would leave them completely to their own devices. She seems like the kind of person who would take the back seat and let her children do what they wanted and figure things out for themselves to an extent, only stepping in to check in with them and make sure they were okay and give them some advice or direction or help figuring things out when they asked or it looked like they really needed it. She seems like more of a mentor than a real authority figure. That's kind of what I was going for anyway.
> 
> Juleka may seem different from in canon, but I think she would be much more open and lively at home than she is in public, since, ostensibly, she feels more comfortable and safe being herself there. I can see hints of her having a sassy, sarcastic personality in the show, so I chose to highlight those qualities here.
> 
> Rose was probably the easiest. I can see some aspects of my own personality in her (like when I get really hyper and excited about something nerdy). We're incredibly different but just similar enough that I could tap into my own experience a little more easily to generate her character. I hope it came out well. ^.^;
> 
> So what did you think of my characterizations? Is there anything you particularly liked? Anything you would add? Anything you would change? The Couffaine family will be back to some extent in Late to the Jabberwocky.
> 
> What was the funniest line? Where did it seem like I was trying to be funny but the joke missed the mark? Did you have a favourite line or a favourite part? Who is your favourite character this chapter?
> 
> Did anyone else notice that the Couffaines have a tree growing out of their boat? Also, I was surprised when I saw that "Liberty" was written in English on the boat's sign. I was going to refer to the boat in French until I checked because I had just assumed, but I was wrong. It really is the English word "Liberty".
> 
> Thank you for reading, guys. I hope to finish up Chapter Six this weekend and post it on Tuesday, 09/03/2019. Take care!


	6. ...'tis not so sweet now as it was before.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luka escorts Adrien home, and they run into Marinette on the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Welcome back for the penultimate chapter of Phantasmagoria. I finally have it completed, so the chapter count will be staying as it currently is at seven. The epilogue will be up on Friday, 09/06/2019, and then I plan to have the first chapter of Late to the Jabberwocky up the following Friday, 09/13/2019.
> 
> Thanks so much to everyone who's supporting this story. Your comments, kudos, and bookmarks are all greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading, guys!

They finished with the dishes, and Adrien bid the Couffaines one last heartfelt thank you before he and Luka set off at a sloth’s pace for the Agreste Mansion.

They walked side by side, but the space between them seemed infinite. This walk along the Seine felt so different from their ramble home the night before.

The streets were busy with the usual weekend hustle and bustle of life in the city: the milling of tourists disappointed by how small the Parisian Statue of Liberty was, young people gathered along and dangling their feet over the embankment, men and women engaged in spirited discussions and small talk at the local cafés, foot traffic and street traffic.

Adrien wished he could walk closer to Luka like they had done the previous evening with his shoulder frequently brushing up against Luka’s. He wanted to hang onto his new friend for support and reassurance. He wanted some physical sign of camaraderie to help bolster his courage.

He wished he knew how his father was going to react. Maybe he was worrying needlessly. Maybe he wasn’t worrying enough.

He wished Luka would reach out and rest a hand on Adrien’s arm…or some other tangible sign of solidarity. Despite having Luka right there, the small distance made Adrien feel so lonely, like he was facing his father and his problems all on his own again, as if the previous evening had never happened. It was funny how quickly Adrien had gotten used to the skinship with Luka, funny how quickly he’d started to miss it when it was not socially appropriate in public for two guys to walk around holding hands or brushing shoulders.

Luka shoved his hands into his pockets to lower the risk of accidentally resting one at the small of Adrien’s back or wrapping an arm around Adrien’s shoulders or anything else a paparazzo could easily misconstrue. It was a hard instinct to fight. He’d gotten rather fond of his privilege of being close to Adrien. It was difficult to go back to not touching, not showing little signs of affection.

Luka gave an involuntary sigh.

“I don’t want to go home,” Adrien muttered, kicking at a loose pebble in the sidewalk as they trudged towards the Eiffel Tower.

Luka snorted. “And I don’t want to let you. If I could take you back home with me permanently, I would. I wish I could keep you.”

“It’s good to be wanted,” Adrien chuckled, feeling slightly better. “…I can’t believe your family was so nice to me.”

Luka bit his tongue before he could reply that people were generally nice like that and that kindness and hospitality were normal things. It killed him that simple things like that were so foreign a concept to Adrien. He wished he could fix it.

“I repeat: you’re easy to be nice to,” he responded instead.

A tentative smile poked its head out onto Adrien’s lips. “Maybe. My friends and their families seem to think so.”

“You need to come visit again soon,” Luka insisted. “Let’s not let this be a one-time thing…. I want to see you again,” he hesitantly admitted. “I want us to keep being friends.”

Adrien nodded. “I’ll sneak out again soon and pay you a visit. I’d really like to come back.”

“If for nothing else, I did promise to teach you guitar,” Luka reminded, making Adrien laugh.

“I was also promised the opportunity to wash dishes and learn how to vacuum,” Adrien added. “And Rose said that she needed to teach me to cook. There are at least a dozen reasons for me to come back.”

“…Is that sarcasm?” Luka wondered with a bemused smile. “I’ve never met anyone who actually wanted to do chores before.”

Adrien shrugged. “The concept of chores is exotic and intriguing to me. It’s like…if you had always heard of something but had never had the opportunity to try it yourself, you’d want to experience it if you had the chance, right?”

“I suppose,” Luka conceded. “And when the novelty of that all wears off, I can show you how to do laundry and dust.”

Adrien perked up a little. “Really?”

Luka bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. “Really, really. God, you’re adorable.”

Adrien gave Luka’s arm a playful swat. “Be nice to the spoiled rich kid. You’d be excited if I said I was going to teach you how to jet ski in the Caribbean, wouldn’t you?”

Luka gave up on holding back his laughter. “Angel, laundry is nowhere near as exciting as jet skiing.”

“Well, I don’t know that,” Adrien pretended to pout. “I’d like to judge for myself.”

“I’d be happy to let you,” Luka assured. He opened his mouth to tease a little more but stopped as a red streak across the sky caught his attention.

“What is it?” Adrien cocked his head at Luka in concern before following his gaze.

Ladybug landed on a nearby rooftop and began scanning the horizon intently.

“It’s your partner,” Luka observed. “It looks like she’s searching for something.”

“I wonder if there’s an akuma,” Adrien sighed.

Luka paled, his hand finding Adrien’s hip even as he kept his gaze on Ladybug. “God, I hope not. I don’t think I’m ready to deal with the reality of you fighting the worst sides of people incarnate.”

“It’s not so bad,” Adrien made a lame attempt at reassurance.

Luka tensed. “You die sometimes. That’s about as bad as it can get.” He knew he was playing a dangerous game with his heart by caring for Adrien, but he also knew that it would be impossible to stop caring at this point. He hoped he never lived to regret it.

“…It’s not so bad,” Adrien repeated weakly.

“I died once,” Luka snorted. “It was pretty awful, Angel.”

Adrien almost snapped his own neck with the rapidity with which he turned to stare in horror at Luka. “Wh-What?”

Luka shrugged, pulling out his phone. “Just don’t die so much, and try not to get hurt. I know it’s part of your job to be the distraction and take the hits so that Ladybug can fix everything, but just be a little less reckless in the future, will you? You’re going to give me a heart attack.”

“When?” Adrien asked breathlessly, seeming not to have heard. “When did you…?”

Luka looked up from his phone and smiled. “It doesn’t look like there are any reports of akuma sightings. Maybe Ladybug is just out stretching her legs.” He slowly let his hand drop from Adrien’s waist back to his side. “Shall we?”

Adrien frowned his displeasure, planting his feet.

Luka laughed at the childish display. He reached out and ruffled Adrien’s hair. “I don’t like talking about it. I’m fine now, though.”

Adrien glared, his expression reading, “Obviously, you are not”.

Luka’s grin softened. “Okay. I’m _not dead_ now, at least. …Think about how you’re feeling right now the next time you’re about to get yourself killed, yeah?”

Adrien’s brow creased. He couldn’t find his voice or the words to reply. How many other people that he cared about had died before?

“Okay, no. Now you’re thinking too much,” Luka sighed, pinching Adrien’s nose. “Stop that. Think of kittens and beach volleyball and ice cream.”

“Why beach volleyball?” Adrien’s frown turned quizzical.

Luka smiled. “Just because it’s happier than whatever morbid thoughts were running through your head. But, now that you mention it, we should take a day trip to the beach sometime. We can invite all your friends.”

A slow smile blossomed on Adrien’s lips. “I’d like that.”

Luka gave Adrien a pat on the back and tipped his chin in a motion for them to keep walking.

Adrien nodded, falling into step beside him.

As they walked along the Seine, Adrien kept seeing a flash of red in his peripheral vision at rooftop level. He sighed, coming to a stop.

“Problem?” Luka inquired attentively.

“I think Ladybug is following us.” He turned in her direction, put on a practiced, fan service smile, and waved at the superhero.

Ladybug nearly fell off the roof. She pinwheeled her arms, overcorrecting and almost tripping onto her face before coming back to vertical and returning the wave sheepishly.

Luka gave a low whistle. “You weren’t kidding about the celebrity crush. She’s almost as bad as—” Luka cleared his throat before he could complete that sentence.

Adrien didn’t seem to take notice of the slip.

“No, I wasn’t kidding in the least,” Adrien groaned while still keeping his work smile in place.

“Sorry,” Luka offered impotently. “That really sucks.”

“Yeah,” Adrien answered a tad bitterly. “I really hope she doesn’t come down to say hi or ask for an autograph or anything. I’m not really in the mood to deal with her at the moment…. I’m still a little sore about the other night when she told me to stop asking her to go out with me.”

“Of _course_ you are,” Luka replied gently, like it was the most natural thing in the world to be upset that Adrien’s crush had a crush on Adrien.

It made Adrien feel less ridiculous, at the very least.

“Thanks,” he breathed, turning back to Luka with a faint smile. “…You know, I’ve never—”

“—Adrien!!! Luka!”

Both boys whipped around at the sound of their names to see Marinette Dupain-Cheng barreling towards them out of a nearby alley.

“Marinette?” Adrien blinked in confusion.

“Marinette,” Luka breathed, his entire face lighting up in delight.

Adrien’s confusion subtly morphed into unease as displeasure welled up in his chest. He took a step away from Luka, letting go of all the warmth and comfort and synchronicity from the night before.

The spell was broken. His life was turning back into a pumpkin.

“Adrien!” Marinette called again breathlessly as she trotted to a stop in front of them, hands on her knees as she caught her breath. “Oh, thank goodness! We thought you’d been kidnapped by American tourists and taken back to Hollywood to star in Marvel movies against your will!”

Adrien blinked once more, an eyebrow slowly rising. “Sorry. What?”

“Well,” Marinette backtracked, straightening up and gesticulating wildly with her hands. “Alya said that probably wasn’t what happened, but Nino backed me up that it was within the realm of possibility. At the very least, everyone was sure that you had been kidnapped—or maybe we just determined that it was an option. I don’t know. I was kind of panicking about the kidnapping at the time and worrying about whether they were hurting you. Nino seemed to think you had run away from home, and Alya mentioned—but you’re okay! Luka found you!” she finished in a squeal of delighted relief.

“Uh…yeah,” Adrien replied with a pasted-on grin. He always felt a little off-balance when Marinette went on one of her verbal spirals. Her mind worked so fast and took so many sudden turns that it was always difficult for him to keep up. He usually came out of it feeling like he’d gotten whiplash.

“Luka rescued me,” Adrien confirmed, grin turning sheepish in his embarrassment.

“What happened?” Marinette gasped, looking back and forth between the boys. Her gaze settled on Luka. “Did you fight off the kidnappers? Are you hurt?!” Her eyes quickly swept over him, frantically searching for damage.

“Oh, My Chanson,” Luka laughed. “You’re adorable.”

Adrien’s stomach turned over.

You’re adorable.

Luka had said those same words in that same tone to Adrien. Did he say it to a lot of people? Did it not mean anything? Adrien had kind of thought—

—Adrien mentally kicked himself, throwing the word “special” to the curb.

“Marinette, I’m fine,” Luka assured, oblivious to Adrien’s reaction. “I didn’t have to fight anyone.”

Marinette’s brow furrowed as she studied both boys. “You didn’t? Then…what happened? Did you sneak away from the kidnappers, Adrien?”

Adrien grimaced, trying to keep a lid on his emotions as he was drawn back into the conversation. “Marinette, there were no kidnappers,” he explained gently. “I…I snuck out. I needed to clear my head after a fight with my father, so I snuck out. I ran into Luka, and he helped me feel better. He was just walking me home. I’m really sorry to make you guys worry so much, but…” Adrien looked away, and his cheeks began to color in shame. He’d caused so much trouble. “I just couldn’t deal with everything that was going on, so I ran away. I’m sorry.”

“Oh…no,” she cooed, ever-forgiving and comforting and sweet as she reached out and rested a supportive hand on his shoulder.

He could see what Luka saw in her. Marinette was all-around wonderful.

“…Adrien…. It’s fine. I’m sorry. I’m just glad you’re okay. Everyone will be so relieved,” Marinette insisted, pulling out her phone to text the search party.

“Wait!” Adrien’s hand flew out to still hers.

The look of baffled surprise on her face made him release his grip.

“S-Sorry,” he stammered, withdrawing his hand. “I just…please don’t let my family know yet. I can’t really explain, but I don’t want them to know, so… Please?”

Marinette nodded slowly. “All right. If it’s important to you,” she agreed with a supportive smile and put away her phone. “I’m just glad you’re okay, Adrien. We were all so worried.”

Adrien hung his head. “I’m really sorry.”

“No, no!” Marinette began to wave her hands like a flock of pigeons scattering as they took flight. “Don’t be sorry. It’s-It’s fine. I can’t really say that I understand, but…it’s fine.”

Adrien blew out a long sigh of relief, piecing together an anemic smile. “Thank you.”

“Sure thing. Any time.” Marinette’s smile was like drinking hot chocolate. It warmed Adrien up from the inside out.

“…Adrien?” Luka called, beckoning to his companion. “Shall we get going?”

Adrien nodded, closing the distance between them.

“Marinette, it was good to see you, but I need to get Adrien home,” Luka explained. “Could you wait maybe about twenty minutes before you tell everyone?”

Marinette easily agreed. “I’ll come with you guys and send the text when we get to the Mansion.”

“That’s not necessary,” Adrien tried to dissuade her. “I mean, thank you, Marinette, but I think Luka’s got it covered. You don’t have to come with us.”

She waved away his protests, misunderstanding. “I don’t mind. Actually, I’ll feel a lot better if I see you home safely myself.”

“That’s…” He bit his tongue. “…really sweet of you, Marinette.” Because it really was, despite the inconvenience it caused him. “Thank you,” he recovered, plastering a serene, grateful smile over the unease and dissatisfaction he felt at his situation.

He bit his tongue harder when she fell into step _between_ Adrien and Luka and turned to speak with the older boy.

“Luka, I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever,” she chuckled like bells, and Luka was all ears.

Adrien shoved his hands into his pockets and busied himself with looking at the architecture of the passing buildings. Adrien knew he was being stupid and infantile, but it had meant a lot the night before when Luka had gone out of his way to make the whole evening about Adrien. It was _never_ just about Adrien, and Adrien wanted that again.

“You just saw me when you dropped off all of those madeleines,” Luka snickered. “Did you forget?”

Marinette shook her head, giving him a playful shove. “No. I guess it just feels like forever because you didn’t call me last night, so I didn’t get to talk to you.”

“ _You_ could have called _me_ for once,” Luka teased.

“I _would_ call you if you didn’t always beat me to it.” Marinette rolled her eyes. “Besides, last night I knew you were busy, and I didn’t want to call at a bad time. How was your gig?”

“Very good,” Luka confirmed, sounding pleased.

They were walking too fast for Adrien’s taste. They’d be there in no time, and Adrien didn’t want to go home feeling like this. Things were only going to get worse once he got home.

“Everyone really liked the classical song that I made a metal version of—the one I showed you?” Luka continued, his focus on Marinette.

Marinette nodded enthusiastically. “That’s great! So, do you think they’ll let you do another one soon?”

“I’m optimistic,” Luka reported. “…Adrien came and heard me perform.”

Adrien turned to find Marinette gaping at him.

“Wasn’t the gig at a bar? How did you get past the bouncer, Adrien?”

Adrien looked away once more, a faint blush coloring his cheeks. “Uh…I may have bribed him. Generously. I only got to hear one or two songs, though, but it was a really great performance.”

Marinette nodded. “I’ll bet. The songs Luka previewed for me the other day were awesome.” She turned her smile back on Luka. “Are any of your bands playing for the Spring Solstice Festival coming up? It’s been almost a month since I last heard you in concert.”

“Yeah. Actually, three of my bands are going to be playing that weekend. I’ll text you the details if you’d be interested in coming.”

“Definitely!” Marinette cheered. “Wouldn’t miss it.”

“You should both come,” Luka suggested, gently tugging Adrien back into the conversation. “If you can sneak out or get permission, Adrien, I’d love to have you there.”

Some of the unease and discomfort drained out of Adrien at the invitation. “I’d like that.” It felt good to have Luka’s attention.

“In fact,” Luka continued. “Kitty Section is one of the bands performing. I’d have to run it by the others, but I have a feeling that they’d be ecstatic if you could join us for a couple of numbers too. Would that be something you’d be interested in?”

“I don’t know if my father would even let me, but…yeah,” Adrien answered breathlessly. “I would definitely be interested.”

“I’d love to have you,” Luka repeated, and Adrien could tell that he really did mean it.

It was exhilarating to be wanted.

“Thanks for including me,” Adrien replied with a wide grin.

“Any time.” Luka winked.

But then his attention was back on Marinette as she inquired about the latest song he had been working on.

Adrien couldn’t help but notice that they were cute together, and it left him feeling cold. He felt stupid because he wasn’t interested in either of them romantically, despite readily acknowledging how objectively attractive they each were. He knew there was no point in feeling jealous, but…he wanted to be the center of their attention. He wanted Luka’s focus back on him. He wanted to feel valued and cared for. He wanted Luka to say more of those painfully nice things that made Adrien’s heart flutter in pure joy because someone genuinely liked him, truly cared about him.

Marinette had dozens of friends _and_ loving parents. She didn’t need Luka too. Well, Adrien was pretty sure that she would have him eventually once she realized that the other two guys in her life whom Luka had mentioned couldn’t hold a candle to Luka, but…for now, she didn’t need his attention like Adrien did. Adrien loved his friend dearly, but, in that moment, he couldn’t help but resent her a little for taking Luka away. And then he just felt awful about what a petty, selfish person he was because Marinette was one of the most wonderful, amazing people he knew, and he really couldn’t blame people for adoring her. _He_ adored her.

“Adrien?”

Adrien looked up at the sound of Luka’s voice.

The trio came to a stop, and Luka broke away from Marinette to take Adrien by the shoulders. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” he inquired urgently, picking up on Adrien’s sour, sullen mood.

Adrien covered it up with a curated smile. “Oh, I’m fine. Thank you. Sorry. I’m just tired and not looking forward to facing my father. That’s all. Nothing to worry about.”

Luka’s frown told Adrien that the older teen didn’t quite buy it. “Adrien, you don’t have to do this if you’re not ready. Just say the word, and I’ll take you back home with me. You can hide out at my house for a couple days until you’re feeling up to facing your father.”

Adrien looked away. “I can’t,” he mumbled. “I couldn’t ask—”

“—You can ask for whatever you need,” Luka cut him off. “It’s okay to be quote-unquote ‘selfish’ sometimes.”

Adrien looked up at Luka and then over to Marinette. She was wearing a concerned expression, her eyes full of care and affection.

What wonderful friends he had in his life.

Adrien managed to pull together a partially-genuine smile. “Thank you. I think I’m okay, though. I’m ready to do this,” he lied.

Luka’s expression remained unsure. “Yeah?”

Adrien turned the dial on his smile up a notch. What it lost in authenticity, it made up for in enthusiasm. “Yep. All set, I think. Thank you, Orpheus. Let’s go.” With a tip of his head, he pulled away and started walking briskly towards the Mansion.

Dread pooled in his stomach, but he didn’t let it show on his face. He didn’t want to make Marinette and Luka worry.

“Adrien? Slow down a bit,” Marinette called after him, a grave look cut into her features.

Adrien complied, casting her a soft smile that was engineered to reassure. “Don’t worry, Marinette. I’m okay. Would I lie to you?” he teased ironically, giving her his signature wink.

Her cheeks colored, and a dainty smile followed on the heels of the flush. “Of course not,” she giggled as he bumped her arm with his own. “You just looked a little distressed.”

“I’m okay,” he repeated gently. “Thank you for looking out for me.”

She nodded, smile and blush both growing. “Of course. That’s what friends do.”

That was one down and one to go as far as throwing his friends off his scent.

Adrien turned to Luka and got the sense that _he_ wouldn’t be so easy to convince, judging by Luka’s skeptical expression.

“You were talking about a new song?” Adrien baited. “You said it was inspired partially by Chopin’s Raindrop Prelude. Which part?” He smiled innocently, feigning rapt interest.

He really _did_ care about what Luka had to say, but Adrien wasn’t really in the right headspace to truly appreciate the conversation at that point.

Luka hesitated before he responded, debating whether he should let the subject drop when Adrien was obviously faking it for all he was worth. He bit his lip and decided not to press in front of Marinette. They could talk about what was bothering Adrien later in private.

“The tempestuous part really low in the register. The part that sounds like thunder rumbling,” he answered and smiled when Adrien’s eyes went wide with genuine interest.

“I _love_ that part. Sometimes I just sit down and play that by itself. It drives my father crazy, but I adore it,” Adrien replied enthusiastically. “The bass clef is really my favourite. Anything below middle C gives me goosebumps, but when the notes go so low that they fall off the stave…” Adrien shuddered in delight. “…my whole body goes tingly.”

“Noted,” Luka chuckled fondly, mentally writing himself a reminder to create a low, rumbly song down in that octave and then play it for Adrien to see if Luka could make Adrien go tingly.

Adrien paused to cast a sidelong glance at Luka and Marinette. “Is that weird? Do other people have such strong physical reactions to sounds like that?” Adrien inquired tentatively, beginning to regret his honesty.

“I don’t know if it’s the same, but I find the sound of my sewing machine hypnotically calming,” Marinette confessed, tucking a loose bang shyly behind her ear.

“I do,” Luka volunteered. “There are some songs that make me just _melt_. Usually it happens with instrumental pieces, but I’ve had that reaction to peoples’ voices too…like last night.”

Adrien blinked in confusion and opened his mouth to ask, but then a blush spread like a forest fire across his face as he realized that Luka was referring to when Adrien sang Boston by Augustana. “O-Oh?” He gulped.

Marinette glanced back and forth between the two. “What happened last night?” she asked unassumingly.

That was the million-dollar question, Adrien thought.

“Have Adrien sing something for you sometime,” Luka advised. “He sings like a siren.”

Adrien’s face lit up like a light show. “I don’t think my singing is anywhere near seductive enough to be considered for siren status,” he spluttered.

“I would like to respectfully disagree.” Luka winked at Adrien before looking back to Marinette. “Seriously. Have him sing for you sometime.”

“W-Would you?” Marinette looked up at Adrien hopefully, a dainty, cherry blossom pink blush painting her cheeks. “I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want, but…” She worried at her bottom lip with her teeth.

Adrien shrugged. “I’m not the best singer, but…okay. If you really want me to.”

Marinette sucked in a quick breath in excitement. “Really?”

“Sure,” he easily agreed. “Is now convenient?”

“R-Really?” Marinette beamed up at him, beginning to bounce in her eager anticipation.

Luka laughed softly at her enthusiasm, his eyes full of affection as he watched her.

Adrien bit the inside of his cheek and looked away, as if lost in thought. “What would be good?” he hummed in order to distract himself from what a cute couple his friends made. “A song for walking along the Seine in the early spring…. It has to be something romantic but classy. No sappy pop songs, and it has to be in French.” He smiled conspiratorially despite not daring to look at either of them.

Softly, he began to croon Édith Piaf’s La Vie en Rose as they strolled.

Marinette’s heart swelled as the boy she adored sang of love. She felt the lyrics resonate in her own chest as Adrien’s voice made her body vibrate in delight. She allowed herself the simple yet painful pleasure of pretending that he was singing about her.

Luka too was melting at the sound of Adrien’s voice as the song dredged up vivid memories of Adrien in Luka’s arms, low whispers, and faces a mere handspan apart. It was beautiful torture.

The song eventually came to an end, leaving Marinette cooing and starry-eyed in its wake. “Amazing!” she praised. “Adrien, that was lovely! I never knew you could sing like that.”

Adrien’s cheeks glowed at the honest awe coating her words.

“Didn’t I tell you?” Luka preened as if Adrien’s vocal talent was something he could legitimately be proud of himself. “He’s gorgeous.”

“Yeah,” Marinette sighed dreamily.

Adrien almost tripped.

Marinette realized what she had just agreed with and started to wave her hands erratically. “Your voice!” she corrected. “He meant that your voice is gorgeous!”

Luka put a hand over his mouth to stifle a bout of laughter. “You two are adorable.”

Adrien’s heart gave a twang at being included once more.

“Marinette, _he’s_ gorgeous too, and there’s no harm in telling him that. I mean, he already knows, don’t you, Adrien?” Luka teased, raising an eyebrow playfully.

Adrien shrugged, shoving his hands deeper into his pockets. He looked away in an attempt to hide his rosy cheeks as he mumbled, “Doesn’t hurt to be reminded.”

Luka turned back to Marinette. “See? We should remind him of how gorgeous he is periodically.”

Adrien and Marinette both blushed at that.

“Luka, you’re embarrassing him,” Marinette admonished gently, bumping his arm with her own.

Luka rolled his eyes, lips quirking into an easy smile. “He likes it. Besides, he could stand to be fussed over a little every now and again. It’s good for him.”

“Be nice,” she chided, tugging on his scarf.

“I can be very nice, can’t I, Adrien?” Luka winked, making the blonde’s blush return with a vengeance. “I know exactly how to be nice to him.”

Adrien’s cheeks felt scorched as he remembered the way Luka had run his fingers through his hair, rubbing his scalp and scratching behind his ears.

It was true. Luka could be _very_ nice when he wanted to. Even now, his teasing was just to make Adrien feel included and cared about. It was a sign of closeness.

Luka smirked down at Marinette. “You’re just complaining because I’m embarrassing _you_.” He tugged gently on one of her pigtails.

Marinette swatted his hand, snatching his bracelet right off his wrist and trotting ahead with it, accompanied by peals of laughter.

“Hey!” Luka pouted, dashing after her.

She wasn’t running in earnest, so Luka effortlessly caught up, catching her around the waist and pulling her back into him.

Marinette shrieked with laughter and squirmed as Luka held her fast and tickled.

“Give it back, thief,” Luka demanded through a wolfish grin.

“Never!” Marinette cried.

Luka ran a deft hand up her ribs, causing Marinette to gasp and writhe in his arms.

“Care to rethink your decision?” he hummed against the shell of her ear.

“I g-give!” she choked, holding out the stolen bracelet.

Luka relented in his assault, his hands stilling and coming to rest on her hips to help keep Marinette upright as she panted.

They stayed like that for a minute as Luka allowed Marinette to catch her breath.

“You okay, Chanson?” Luka inquired, pulling her a little closer and pressing a kiss to the side of her head.

Marinette nodded, cautiously turning in his embrace to smile up at him and slip the bracelet back onto his arm.

Her face was flushed with the exertion, and little reflexive teardrops from the laughter fanned across her lashes.

Luka reached up to carefully wipe the tears away with his thumb, eyes so full of love and adoration. Marinette was his world.

And Adrien felt like he was intruding.

“I think I can get myself home from here,” Adrien announced, startling Luka and Marinette out of their moment. Adrien looked away. “It’s a really nice day. You two should hit up a park or something and then get some lunch together. I’ll be fine by myself if you want to hop on the Metro up ahead.” He pointed to the Bir-Hakeim Station coming up under the overpass. “Thanks for walking with me this far, though.”

Luka frowned, his hands slowly sliding off of Marinette. “Adrien,” he called softly, making his way over to Adrien’s side. “Perfect Fifth, I appreciate you trying to leave me alone with a beautiful young woman, but what you don’t seem to realize is that by leaving, you’ll be depriving both Marinette and myself of the company of one of the sweetest, most interesting, most attractive guys in all of France.”

Adrien’s entire face turned carmine from the tip of his nose to the tops of his ears.

“And neither Marinette nor I are quite willing to part with you, no matter how fun a stroll in the park sounds. Isn’t that right, Marinette?” Luka turned to Marinette for her to back up his claim.

“Absolutely!” she chimed in. “I mean, we wouldn’t! Be willing to part with you, I mean.” She smiled sheepishly. “Please stay.”

Adrien blinked in a confused daze.

They wanted him? Really wanted him?

He eyed Luka intently. “You’re sure?”

“Of course I’m sure, Adrien. I genuinely like you. I _want_ you around.” Luka lowered his voice as he chuckled mischievously, “Don’t make me prove how much I like you in front of Marinette. I swear I’ll do it.”

“Don’t you dare,” Adrien snickered, giving Luka a playful shove. “It’ll be just my luck that the paparazzi choose that moment to jump out of the bushes and cause a public relations nightmare.”

“Maybe some other time, then.” Luka gave Adrien’s hair a ruffle.

Adrien snorted in amusement, batting at Luka’s hand. “Flirt. Usually that’s my role.”

Luka waggled his eyebrows. “I only flirt with people who are worth flirting with. You should be honored.”

“Lucky me,” Adrien hummed.

“Come on,” Luka prompted, throwing an arm around Adrien’s shoulders and beginning to walk. “Let’s get you home. Marinette?”

Marinette startled, giving a little yip of surprise as she was yanked out of the fog caused by watching two very attractive guys flirting with one another. “Y-Yes?”

“Do me a favor and put your arm around Adrien’s waist,” Luka instructed.

“W-What?!” She nearly jumped three feet in the air.

“Put your arm around his waist,” Luka repeated patiently. “Show him how much we care about him and how we want him here with us.”

“O…kay,” she meekly muttered, carefully slipping her arm around Adrien as asked. She tentatively looked up at him and smiled interrogatively as if asking for his permission.

Adrien returned her uncertain smile with a reassuring one, whispering, “Thanks.”

“Sure,” she chuckled breathily. “I _am_ glad. I’m happy you’re here with us.”

Adrien nodded, feeling the warmth and security and ease he’d experienced the night before with Luka come back in some measure. “I’m happy I’m here too.”

They walked slowly for the remaining blocks to the Agreste Mansion, their arms wrapped companionably around one another as Luka continued to tell them about the songs he was writing and Adrien asked questions and made comments. Marinette didn’t know much about music, and so she didn’t have much to add, but she sought clarification when she didn’t understand, eager to engage with the boys on a topic that was obviously paramount to the both of them.

“I need to take a music theory or music appreciation class or something,” she sighed as Luka and Adrien went off on a discussion of Chopin.

Adrien paused with his mouth partially open. “—I’m sorry, Marinette. I didn’t mean to be rude. We can talk about something else if you want.”

She shook her head rapidly. “Oh! No, no. No. This is fine. I know how much Luka loves music, and it seems like you’re pretty into it as well, Adrien. I’m excited that you two have someone to have these kinds of conversations with. Don’t stop on my account. I’ll just ask questions whenever you lose me, if that’s okay? I don’t want to interrupt you two, though.”

“You’re fine, Chanson,” Luka assured. “Ask all the questions you need. I’m sure I’ll be completely lost when you and Adrien talk about fashion, and Adrien will be out of his ken when you and I talk about poor people topics like having to work for a living and paying bills and not having a maid to do the chores and errands.”

“Hey,” Adrien pouted half-heartedly. “Be nice to the spoiled rich kid.”

“You know I’m just playing.” Luka winked.

Adrien stuck out his tongue. “Be careful. I might repay the favor in the future after I’ve recovered from my colossal bad day yesterday.”

Luka hummed thoughtfully. “I might be in trouble. Marinette, save me.”

“Why are you looking at me?” Marinette wondered, abashed. “What in the world gives you the idea that I’d be any match against him?”

“You’re an extraordinary young woman,” Luka announced. “Isn’t she, Adrien?”

“She sure is,” Adrien laughed, his amusement only increasing as Marinette’s face from her neck to her scalp went boiled-lobster red.

“You can do anything,” Luka added, shamelessly stroking Marinette’s ego.

“Nope,” Marinette responded decidedly. “You’re on your own, Luka Couffaine.”

Luka bit his lip as he cast Adrien an entreating look. “Be gentle with me?”

Adrien smirked. “I don’t think so.”

Luka let out a low whistle. He opened his mouth to return Adrien’s joust but stopped short when it occurred to him that they weren’t walking anymore.

The three teens stared up at the imposing façade of the Agreste Mansion.

“…We’re here,” Marinette finally broke the somber silence, her arm falling from Adrien’s waist.

Luka reluctantly slid his own arm down from around Adrien’s shoulders, patting the younger teen on the back before breaking contact in case any reporters or fans were on the lookout with cameras.

“Hey, Marinette?” Luka called softly.

Marinette snapped to attention. “Hm?”

“I’ll escort you home after this, but could you wait on the corner for a minute? I’d like to speak to Adrien alone real quick.” He turned an entreating gaze on her.

“Oh. Oh, of course,” she agreed readily. “I’ll just wait over there.” She moved to leave them but then paused, turning back to Adrien. Nervously, she took his hands and smiled tentatively. “I’m really glad you’re safe, Adrien. I was really scared when I heard you were missing. A lot of people were really—but don’t apologize,” she interjected as she saw him open his mouth to do just that. “You don’t have to apologize,” she stressed, giving his hand a little squeeze. “It was because so many people care about you…. Anyway, I’m glad you’re okay, and I hope that whatever made your day yesterday so bad, whatever you and your dad fought about, whatever made you run away last night, I hope it gets better for you. You’re a wonderful person—one of my favourite people—and you deserve good things, okay?”

Adrien didn’t get the chance to reply, to thank her, to get choked up, to even fully process what she had said, before she launched forward, pressing a short, swift, sweet, simple kiss to his cheek.

“I’ll-see-you-at-school-on-Monday!-Bye!” she squeaked as she raced to the corner Luka had designated, not looking back.

“Wow,” Luka hummed as Adrien delicately cradled the cheek she had kissed in his left hand. “Somebody’s lucky today.”

Adrien looked up at his friend. “You’re not…jealous?” he pieced the question together haltingly.

Luka raised an eyebrow. “Jealous? Not particularly. I mean, _I_ got to snuggle with you all night. Why should I begrudge Marinette a kiss on the cheek?”

Adrien doubled over laughing for a second before straightening up to whap Luka on the arm. “Flirt,” he snorted teasingly but then put on a solemn expression as he added, “You know, in all honesty, I really appreciate the attention.”

“I thought you might. I’m not laying it on too thick? I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable…just _wanted_ , cared for,” Luka assured.

Adrien nodded. “You do. Don’t worry. I promised that I’d tell you if you crossed a line, didn’t I? But, no. You make me feel less like a third wheel and more like a…I don’t know. Kind of like a coconspirator or something. I don’t know, but it’s nice.”

“Good,” Luka chuckled. “Good. I’m glad.”

“You said you wanted to talk to me about something?” Adrien tipped his head to the side curiously.

Luka bit his lip. “Are you okay? _Really_? Earlier, when we first ran into Marinette, you were acting off. You got all quiet and…just kind of… Something wasn’t right. Can we talk about that, or…? Only if you want. I’m not pressuring you. I’m not _trying_ to pressure you.”

A dusting of pink spread across Adrien’s cheeks, and he smiled sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Ah. That. Yeah. Well…I guess that was me feeling insecure about intruding on your time with Marinette because I know you like her, and if she doesn’t wake up to how amazing you are soon, I’m going to have to do something about that, but…”

Luka opened his mouth to object, but Adrien continued with a wince. “When Marinette first showed up, you were fawning over her and paying attention to her…so _that_ was me getting jealous—if someone can even get jealous of two people one’s not interested in romantically. Is that a thing?”

Luka mentally smacked himself to keep from doing a celebratory dance right there on the street and shrugged instead. “Obviously someone _can_ get jealous of people they’re not romantically interested in. I mean, there’s at least you. Provided you’re not secretly attracted to one or both of us—but I shouldn’t joke about that. You’re serious.”

Adrien shrugged. “It’s stupid. I just wanted you to pay attention to me, but you were so caught up in her, and…I guess I was just being needy.”

“Adrien—”

“—No, really. For real,” Adrien interrupted. “You said that being needy was when you already had enough but wanted more anyway…. Right? I’d been the center of your attention all night. I should have realized that that wouldn’t always be the case, but…I’m okay now,” he assured, actually feeling it to be true. “Because of you. When you and Marinette put your arms around me and you made me feel included and wanted and not like I was an intruder…I started to feel better. I _do_ feel better about it now. I can’t promise I won’t get jealous again in the future, but…honestly, I’m going to have to get used to seeing you and Marinette together sometime. You can’t be my emotional support forever. That’s not fair, so…but I’m good. We’re good. Thanks for asking, for going out of your way to be mindful of my ridiculous, easily-bruised feelings.” He gave Luka a tentative smile. “Thanks.”

Luka gave Adrien’s hair another tussle. “Okay. You’re welcome. Just…try not to shrug off your feelings, okay? Even if they seem ridiculous to you, they’re still valid. Yeah?”

Adrien nodded, his smile solidifying.

Luka took a deep breath and looked at the Mansion. “Are you going to be okay?”

Adrien shrugged. “Hard to tell.”

“Do you need me to go in with you?” Luka offered. “If you don’t want to face your father alone, I’d be more than willing to go with you for moral support.”

Adrien shook his head emphatically. “He can’t know about you.”

Luka’s features slowly formed into an unsure frown.

“I mean, I don’t want him to know about you so that he can’t bother you or your family,” Adrien rushed to explain. “If he doesn’t know we’re friends, he can’t come looking for me at your house. I didn’t even consider Nino’s last night because I knew that would be the first place my father checked. I’d rather keep you a secret to keep you safe…so that I can be safe if I ever need a place to disappear again. Sorry. Is that no good?”

Luka waved away Adrien’s concern. “No. That’s fine. That’s…not a bad idea, actually. I’m just sorry that it’s something you feel like you have to do.”

Adrien shrugged, opening his mouth to respond.

“Please don’t say that you’re used to it,” Luka groaned.

Adrien grimaced.

Luka wanted to hug him, but he knew he couldn’t right there in the street where anyone could see and turn it into a news headline. “I’m telepathically pulling you into a crushing hug.”

Adrien’s face brightened as he laughed. “Telepathic hug received and much appreciated.”

There was a beat, and then Adrien sighed. “I guess it’s time for me to go in.”

Luka nodded. “Please don’t let this be goodbye. If I don’t hear from you in the next few days, I am getting your number from Marinette and harassing you until you agree to hang out with me again.”

Adrien cracked up. “Oh, please. I could say the same thing to you. I’ll be in touch, Orpheus.”

Luka studied Adrien intently for any sign of deception. Finding none, he nodded once more. “Okay. I’m holding you to that.” He held out his hand. “I don’t think I can hug you in public like I’d like to, but this should be socially acceptable enough.”

Adrien took Luka’s hand and was pulled in. Luka gave Adrien a quick clap on the back before letting go and stepping back.

“Take care, Angel,” Luka whispered with a wink and a fond smile.

Adrien felt a comforting warmth in his chest as he gave a little wave and turned to approach the gate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. That is a preview of my ability (or inability, depending on your opinion of the chapter) to write Luka, Adrien, and Marinette in a scene together. I have a couple scenes like this planned for Jabberwocky, but Jabberwocky will mostly be Luka and Adrien.
> 
> Thoughts? Feelings? Opinions? Did we like Marinette? Was that the worst thing ever? Are they cute together? What did you think of their dynamic?
> 
> I personally had fun writing Luka and Marinette loving on Adrien. Luka prompting Marinette to be affectionate with Adrien and prompting Adrien to compliment Marinette was amusing to me. The Luka and Marinette dynamic was a little challenging at first, but I think I smoothed it out and found something that worked by the end of the chapter. What did you think?
> 
> Did you have a favourite simile or metaphor? I tried to work more of them than usual into this chapter, and I came up with some ones that I'm not sure whether they worked or not. ^.^; I mean, Marinette waving her hands around like a flock of pigeons scattering? Yes? No?
> 
> Thank you for joining me, guys! I'll see you again on Friday, 09/06/2019.
> 
> References:  
> "My Chanson" = "My Song". As in the “song” that’s been playing in Luka’s head since he met Marinette.  
> Chopin Raindrop Prelude (really cool part referenced in story at 1:56-2:20): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh03YXzvDF4  
> La Vie en Rose: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry7tAB-Dzms


	7. ...so full of shapes is fancy...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meanwhile, at the Agreste Mansion...  
> Back aboard the Liberty...Rose is going to be really upset that she missed this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Welcome back for the final chapter. ^.^ Finally. Thanks for sticking with me, guys. I didn't expect for this to go on for so long, but...well, here we are. I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you so much to everyone who ever left a comment, left kudos, bookmarked the story, or just read the blasted thing. I appreciate you all so much.
> 
> Without further ado, here is the final chapter. I hope to see you all again next week for the continuation in Late to the Jabberwocky.

“How is Adrien?” Gabriel inquired without taking his eyes from the screen in front of him.

Nathalie sighed, adjusting her glasses.

Two or three years prior, she would have held her tongue. Not now. Especially not when Adrien needed his father.

“Congratulations. I think you really hurt him this time, Gabriel,” she informed tersely.

Gabriel’s eyes flickered away from the monitor. “What?”

“He thinks his mother abandoned him, and he feels like you’re abandoning him too,” she cut to the quick of it, not bothering to waltz around the issue.

Gabriel looked up. “That’s not what happened. Emilie would never.”

“ _He_ doesn’t know that,” Nathalie snorted, arms crossed. “Are you ever going to tell him? It’s been three years, Gabriel.”

Gabriel shook his head. “I can’t,” he snorted. “He’d ask questions. He’s a child. He wouldn’t understand. It’s better to wait to tell him until after Emilie has returned. He won’t understand until he sees _why_ I’ve been working so hard these past few years and why what I’m doing is necessary, justified.”

Nathalie pressed her lips together, biting the inside of her cheek. “…You could have at least had dinner with him. He was right; you have to eat eventually. He could have sat in here with you.”

“He distracts me,” Gabriel argued, eyes going back to the document onscreen. “Especially today. Those eyes, that face, the color of his hair…and he’s always chattering. Nathalie, I need to get this project done. I’m on a tight deadline. I’ll call if I need you.”

Nathalie did not take her cue to be dismissed. “And when are _you_ going to eat dinner?”

Gabriel did not respond.

“Because Adrien didn’t eat either. You two could still eat together.”

Nearly imperceptibly, the crease of Gabriel’s brow changed. The line of his mouth elongated. He shifted his weight slightly.

“…Have the kitchen send him something,” Gabriel instructed. “Something…something good. Something he actually likes…like…”

Gabriel wracked his brain. It had been a while since he had last eaten with Adrien. It suddenly occurred to Gabriel that he did not eat with his son often enough to know what his son liked or disliked. He ate with Adrien on holidays and at company dinners where he observed that Adrien ate a polite amount of whatever was placed before him, not seeming to favor one dish over any other.

Gabriel looked to Nathalie for help. “Does he like beef bourguignon? Coq au vin?”

Nathalie’s blank expression darkened almost inappreciably in a way that signaled to Gabriel that she was disappointed in him.

“Does he like Indian food?” Gabriel guessed, and he was a little ashamed to admit that it was one hundred percent a guess.

“If you want to fix this, you will go to his room with a salad that doesn’t have any meat in it,” Nathalie advised.

Gabriel’s eyes flew wide. “Is my son a vegetarian?”

Internally, Nathalie sighed. “No, Gabriel.”

Gabriel relaxed by a degree. “Good. It was bad enough being married to one. …Why a salad?”

“It was Emilie and Adrien’s custom when one of them had a bad day. It’s a kind of comfort food for him. I imagine Adrien would appreciate the gesture,” Nathalie explained.

Gabriel pursed his lips. “…Later. I really need to finish this, Nathalie, and I don’t think…” A wave of emotion hit Gabriel, and he had to swallow before he could go on. “Today is very difficult for me. I handle it best by not thinking about it. I don’t think I’ll be able to return to work if I go sit with Adrien and acknowledge…that she’s still gone…my failure. …I’ll call you if I require anything. Thank you, Nathalie.”

He turned back to the monitor and buried himself in his work.

With a sigh, Nathalie turned to go, knowing there was nothing else she could do for either one of the men who were precious to her.

It was eleven o’clock before Gabriel finished up work for the night. He groaned when he saw the time. He hadn’t intended the project to take so long, but Gabriel had been undeniably distracted the entire day, so everything was taking longer than expected.

“What’s the matter, Maître?” Nooroo inquired tentatively, afraid of getting snapped at but concerned for his bearer. He had been sensing the inner turmoil in Gabriel throughout the day.

Gabriel shook his head. “It’s too late to go in to Adrien. He’s probably asleep.”

“Maître,” Nooroo replied cautiously. “It seems to me that your son might appreciate it if you went in and woke him up to tell him you’re sorry and share a meal with him. He’ll most likely appreciate the gesture more than he’ll mind his rest being disturbed. Otherwise, he’ll wake up tomorrow, still hungry, thinking you don’t care.”

Gabriel did not reply.

Nooroo began to get nervous. “Forgive me for overstepping my bounds, Maître. It wasn’t my place to comment on your family situation. Please forgive me.”

“…No,” Gabriel finally responded.

Nooroo tensed, awaiting punishment.

“For once…I believe you’re right…but see that you don’t step out of line like this again in the future,” Gabriel instructed.

Nooroo bowed, thanking his lucky stars, as he replied dutifully, “Yes, Maître. Thank you, Maître.”

Gabriel woke the kitchen staff member who was on overnight duty and had him make a large bowl of salad to share. Taking salad, bowls, forks, dressing, and napkins up on a tray, Gabriel awkwardly knocked on the far door to Adrien’s room.

There was no response.

Gabriel knocked again with the same result.

“Adrien?” he called in case his son was still up and simply ignoring him. “It’s your father. I’m coming in now.”

The light was off, and one of the windowpanes was slightly ajar, an early spring breeze squeezing through the chink. Sickly pale moonlight flooded in through the wall of windows, giving the room an eerie, ethereal feel.

Gabriel set the tray down on Adrien’s desk and quietly made his way over to where his son lay huddled up under the bedsheets.

“Adrien?” he called softly, reaching out to gently shake his son’s shoulder.

Gabriel jumped when his hand came into contact with, not solid flesh like he had been expecting, but a squishy lump. He pulled down the sheets to find a pile of pillows positioned around Adrien’s body pillow to give the illusion of a sleeping form.

“Adrien?!” he shouted, scanning the room for any sign of his son.

He dashed to the light switch and threw it on.

Gone.

The windowpane, merely noted before, came under heavy scrutiny.

Gabriel ran to the wall of windows, holding his breath as he looked down into the garden, praying he wouldn’t find his son’s body below.

Thankfully, Adrien did not appear to have broken his neck in the jump from his second story bedroom window.

Gabriel dashed out into the foyer, yelling for Nathalie.

The skeleton crew of the overnight staff was roused from bed and set to work searching every corner of the Agreste Mansion. No trace of Adrien was found.

The tracking data from his phone showed that it had been stationary from a point shortly after Adrien had last spoken to Nathalie, and a review of the phone’s contents did not reveal anything useful. Adrien had not called or texted anyone in the last few hours, and his internet search history did not yield any clues.

They called Nino, and Gabriel was about to insist that they contact the rest of Adrien’s known associates too, but Nathalie shook her head.

“Gabriel, it’s too late, even for a Friday night. If you start waking people up, the media might get wind of it, and we could have a scandal on our hands. Adrien is at that age where rumors about women and secret trysts and all that ugly nonsense could start going around. It would be more prudent to wait until morning and then discretely check with his friends. Besides, Adrien is too smart to go somewhere you would think of looking for him.”

Nathalie had a suspicion that Adrien had transformed and was currently hiding out in costume…not that she could tell anyone, least of all Gabriel, that. She did, however, check for any Chat Noir sightings online. She came up empty.

They called the police. After half an hour of shouting and threats and bribes, they agreed to start a missing persons search nearly twenty hours early.

Nathalie took one of the cars while Adrien’s bodyguard and driver, Victor, drove Gabriel around Paris in another.

At two AM, Gabriel and Nathalie collapsed in a heap on the sofa in the sitting area in the dining hall.

“I should have had dinner with him,” Gabriel muttered, taking off his glasses and running a hand through his hair.

“You can have dinner with him when he comes back,” Nathalie replied wearily.

“What makes you so sure he’ll come back?” Gabriel scoffed. “Maybe he’s gone forever…like Félix.” Gabriel’s eyes widened. He sat bolt upright, voice urgent. “Adrien still talks to them, doesn’t he? Nathalie, do you have their contact information? Do you think he went to them? To Marseille?”

Nathalie frowned, pulling out her phone. “Adrien is in contact with his sister-in-law at least. I don’t know that he would take off for Marseille or anywhere else without at least a duffle bag of clothes and his toothbrush—none of which seem to be missing—, but…” Nathalie shot off a medium-length text. “…Bridgette owns a small bakery, so she should be up in the next two or three hours. Maybe we’ll hear back from her then.”

Gabriel slumped back into the couch.

“…He’ll be back,” Nathalie softly assured, resting a hand on Gabriel’s arm. “He didn’t take anything with him. If he were running away, he would have taken more. He’s a smart kid, Gabriel. There’s no need to worry.”

Gabriel shook his head. “He’s naïve, Nathalie. He’s been protected from the ugliness of this world. He’s been sheltered. He doesn’t know how to survive out there on his own.”

“He’s smart enough to realize that and come back,” she pointed out. “He’ll be back.”

“Where is he going to sleep?” Gabriel wondered. “He didn’t have any dinner. What if he’s hungry?” he fretted.

Nathalie pressed a kiss to the center of Gabriel’s brow. “Let me make you some tea.”

“Nathalie, it’s cold out there. People could hurt him or take advantage of him. He’s too trusting, too immature, inexperienced.”

Nathalie set the coffeemaker in the corner to boil water. “It’s warm enough, and he’s not as simple as you seem to think. No one’s going to hurt him. He’ll be home any time now.”

They fell asleep, slumped together on the couch, a little after three o’clock.

At eight o’clock, they began to call Adrien’s friends. They checked in with the police, did another, more exhaustive drive around town, and sent out a mass text to Adrien’s schoolfellows a little before eleven.

At eleven o’clock, Gabriel shut himself up in his atelier and asked not to be disturbed unless there were any new leads.

The bell on the front gate rang at eleven forty-eight.

Adrien, wearing rumpled clothing but looking none the worse for wear, waved sheepishly at the camera, his other hand rubbing anxiously at the back of his neck. “Um…hi. It’s me.”

After alerting Gabriel, Nathalie yanked open the front door and ran out to meet Adrien with a crushing hug.

“You have no idea how worried we’ve been,” she hissed into his hair before pulling back and letting go, recomposing herself.

Adrien blinked in a daze. “‘We’?”

“Everyone!” Nathalie snorted. “The staff. Victor. Me…. Your _father_.”

A light blush lit up Adrien’s cheeks. “My father?” He said the word as if he barely dared to hope that it was true.

“Of course.” Nathalie clicked her tongue, putting a hand at the small of his back to guide him to the atelier. “He went to your room last night and found you missing. We were up until the small hours of the morning. He’s been beside himself.”

“O-Oh,” Adrien breathed.

“Don’t sound so surprised,” Nathalie sighed, the fight leaving her. “He may be an absentminded, socially-inept workaholic, but he _loves_ you, Adrien. Never doubt that.”

She paused at the atelier door and looked to Adrien. “Ready?”

Adrien took a deep breath and nodded, pushing the door open himself. “Father?”

Gabriel looked up from his screen, and a flurry of emotions chased one another across his normally impassive face: disbelief, relief, guilt, anger. The emotional surge was over in a matter of seconds, leaving behind not a trace when Gabriel’s usual mask slammed back down.

“You’re home,” Gabriel observed.

“I’m home,” Adrien agreed, stopping in the doorway. He fiddled with his ring and chewed on the inside of his cheek as he waited for some kind of explosion from his father. He was expecting red-hot anger. He was hoping for overwhelming relief.

He got neither.

“And where have you been?” Gabriel inquired coolly, eyes calmly taking in and cataloguing Adrien’s appearance.

Adrien scuffed the toe of his shoe against the floor tiles. “I went to a bar. I don’t remember the name. I was intending to get really drunk and land myself in the tabloids, but I ran into an acquaintance, and he kept me from doing anything stupid. I spent the night with him.” Adrien shrugged, his eyes falling to the floor.

Gabriel stifled a splutter, biting his lip and digging his nails into the palm of his hands. “And do I know this acquaintance of yours? Someone from school?”

Adrien shook his head.

“From work?” Gabriel guessed.

“You don’t know him.” Adrien insisted. “He was just in the right place at the right time. I owe him a great deal.”

Gabriel frowned, studying his son. “I don’t suppose you’ll introduce me to him so that I can thank him myself for saving you from doing anything foolish?”

Adrien gave a small shake of the head. “I don’t think I will.”

Gabriel pursed his lips. “Fine. Keep your secret. Obviously, you are grounded until further notice. I am disappointed in your childish behavior and inability to comport yourself as befitting an Agreste.” Gabriel frowned and opened his mouth as if he were about to say more.

Gabriel’s face contorted in a procession of conflicting emotions. He wanted to tell Adrien he was sorry, that he’d been terrified of losing him, that he was glad that his son was safe…but would that encourage Adrien to adopt this behavior again? Gabriel had seen what indulgence had done to the Bourgeois child. He didn’t want Adrien to get the impression that this behavior would be tolerated. He couldn’t reward Adrien for acting out. The only suitable action was punishment.

Gabriel’s features turned to steel. “Go to your room, Adrien.”

Adrien looked down at his feet in resignation. “Yes, Father,” he muttered with a bow, turning around and shuffling towards the door.

Lost in thought, it took Adrien a few minutes to drag his feet through the foyer, up the staircase, and to his room. He immediately went to his bed, flinging himself down face first, muttering bitterly, “So much for acting out to get attention. I don’t know why I even bother.”

Plagg landed on the pillow, contemplating his charge. On a normal day, the correct reaction would be a joke or a jab or some nonchalant remark. Unfortunately, the day was anything but ordinary. Plagg’s chosen was drained and weary and much in need of handling with kid gloves.

“I don’t know,” Plagg hummed. “Acting out for attention worked pretty well on that snake boy. I mean, all you really had to do was bat your eyes, and he was falling all over himself to make you happy. I’d say that your outing was incredibly successful judging by the number of head rubs and the amount of snuggle time you got.”

Adrien muttered something into the sheets, shifting in an attempt to hide his vermillion blush.

“ _And_ ,” Plagg added. “Your dad’s girlfriend did say that your father had been worried sick over you. Maybe he managed to get control of his emotions by the time that we got home, but I bet you anything that he was an absolute wreck last night. If you had walked in at four in the morning, I think you might have gotten a warmer reception.”

Adrien resituated himself on top of the covers once more. “…Maybe,” he allowed. “…I just wish he would have shown a little more…I don’t know. _Something_ when I got home.”

“I don’t know what you want, Kid. You saw how his face spasmed for, like, ten whole seconds before the fire doors slammed shut on his emotions. That was _something_ , wasn’t it?” Plagg reasoned.

Adrien rolled over onto his back. “Not exactly the something I was hoping for, though.”

“Maybe you need to learn to take what you can get—I’m not saying that you should settle for your father’s usual crap. He _definitely_ needs to step up his game on a daily basis, but the important thing that you seem to be dismissing is that he _did_ react somewhat today. It is disappointing that that’s all that he’s got, but maybe you need to accept the baby steps along the way to get to the actual change you want to see. …Thoughts? Feelings? Comments?” Plagg inquired. “If you’ve got something to say, Kid, say it now because, after this, I’m going back to being aloof and unhelpful.”

Adrien was reflective for a moment before answering. “…Actually…I think I’ve got it. You’re right, Plagg.”

Plagg nodded sagely. “I’m always right. I’m going to raid the minifridge now.”

“I suppose it was too much to expect him to be waiting at the door to pull me into a hug. At least I got one from Nathalie, though…and Luka,” Adrien chuckled, recalling fondly the evening before.

“Funny how those kinds of things work out,” Plagg sighed, phasing through the fridge and coming out with a block of Gruyère.

“And Father did look exhausted and kind of rumpled, kind of like he didn’t have it all together,” Adrien added, the realizations bolstering his mood. “Maybe Nathalie’s right. Maybe he does really love me…he’s just garbage at showing it.”

“That’s the spirit, Kid,” Plagg encouraged before taking a large chunk out of the cheese block. “Glad to see you feeling better,” he remarked as he chewed. “I’m gonna go consider myself off duty now.”

“Sure, Plagg,” Adrien chuckled fondly at the little glutton as he pretended to be indifferent. Adrien knew from experience that it was all an act and that Plagg was really a huge softie. “I guess I’m going to work on some homework or mess around on the Ladyblog or something. Maybe I can find out what she was searching for when we saw her earlier. Thanks for being there for me.”

Plagg gave a dismissive grunt as Adrien got up and went over to his desk.

There was a tray with a large bowl of salad, a bottle of dressing, and bowls and utensils for two sitting next to the keyboard.

Adrien frowned. Had Nathalie had the kitchen send up the salad after Adrien didn’t eat dinner? He picked up the landline and dialed Nathalie’s direct number.

“Did you need something, Adrien?”

“Question,” he announced. “What is this salad doing sitting on my desk? Did you send it up? If so, thank you very much for thinking of me like that. I really appreciate it, Nathalie.”

Nathalie was quiet for a beat as she mentally pieced things together. “Not I, Adrien. I believe that was your father.”

Adrien frowned, taken aback. “My father? My _father_ brought me a bowl of salad?”

“He was sorry that he had brushed you off while attempting to deal with his own grief over your mother. I’m assuming that he was trying to make amends by bringing a salad for you to eat together when he found you missing. Shall I send someone up to clear away the dishes, or do you wish to be left alone for a bit?” Nathalie offered.

The phone dropped out of Adrien’s hand.

His father _did_ care about him. Gabriel hated salad. If Gabriel was deigning to share a salad with his son to make up for his prior coldness and honor a treasured custom that Adrien had shared with his mother…

Adrien ran from the room, taking the stairs in the foyer two at a time. He burst through the atelier door.

Gabriel looked up in alarm. “Adrien? What is it? Is something—oof.” He grunted as his son hit him like a cannonball, knocking the air from his lungs as Adrien wrapped Gabriel in a fierce hug.

“Thank you for the salad,” Adrien articulated with a shuddering breath through a sudden onslaught of tears. “You have no idea how much that means to me. Last night, I thought you didn’t love me. It always feels like you don’t want me, but…so thank you for the salad.”

Gabriel’s arms awkwardly found their way around his son, tentatively returning the hug. It was a foreign action for Gabriel. Hugs had not been a common thing in his own home growing up. Emilie had teased him mercilessly in a way that was only okay because she was Emilie. She had tried to teach him how to do it properly, but Gabriel’s attempts had always seemed to come out lacking.

“I’m sorry for running away,” Adrien hiccupped. “I know what I did was wrong, but…I guess I was just thinking of myself and how I was feeling. You miss her too, right?”

“Every day.” Gabriel let out a tired sigh, tightening his hold on his son. “I do love you, Adrien. I _do_ want you. Yesterday…was very hard. It was difficult, having you around. You remind me of her,” Gabriel explained haltingly. “You look like her, yes, but you remind me of her too, your personality. Not always, but when you get worked up or act stubbornly. Yesterday it was hard to be around you and not think of her. I’m sorry I did not handle it well.”

Adrien gave Gabriel a hesitant squeeze. “I don’t think I handled it well either. I’m sorry too…. I know I’m grounded, but could we maybe go out for lunch today? I don’t know what kind of food you like, but there’s this neat little Indian restaurant a couple blocks from my school. Or there’s a Persian restaurant over by the Jardin des Plantes. Or the café at the Grand Mosque. They have the best mint tea, and I really like their vegetable couscous.”

Gabriel pulled back to look down at his son in surprise. “You like international, ethnic food, don’t you?”

Adrien blinked up at his father. “Um…yes?”

“What’s your favourite food?” Gabriel wondered.

Adrien bit his lip in thought. “Probably curry. I know that covers a lot of ground, but…Maman used to take me to this Thai place when I was younger, and I really liked their curry. Since I met Alya, my favourite curry-type dish has been the Colombo de Martinique that her mom makes. I think traditionally it’s supposed to be made with lamb, but Alya’s mom does fish with coconut milk and a bunch of spices that’s really good. Recently, though, Marinette and I have been going to this Chinese restaurant on Saturdays, and I’ve really taken to their shrimp lo mein.”

Gabriel nodded, filing this information away for later. “I’m quite fond of seafood, myself. It reminds me of when my family moved to Marseille when I was in high school. I met your mother there. Did you know she was from Marseille?”

Adrien bit his lip. “That sounds familiar. I know she told me that she grew up by the sea.”

“Adrien, I have some work that I need to catch up on, but in an hour or two, why don’t we go out to lunch? Tell Nathalie to have a car ready. You pick the restaurant,” Gabriel informed, relinquishing control.

Adrien’s entire face lit up. “Really, Father?”

“Yes,” Gabriel confirmed. “Have Nathalie come drag me out of here if I’m not ready to go by two o’clock.”

“Thank you,” Adrien breathed, pulling Gabriel in for a quick hug before breaking away and starting for the door to tell Nathalie. “See you in an hour or two.”

Luka let out a low, guttural curse, slumping in the deck chair.

Juleka looked up from the magazine she had been reading, quirking an eyebrow. “Adrien?” she guessed.

Luka set his guitar to the side and covered his face with his hands, repeating the expletive plaintively.

“Adrien,” Juleka confirmed, going back to the article on the band Excès Nocturne and the evolution of cold wave music. “It’s been—what?—like, twenty-four hours since you saw him?”

Luka groaned.

“Uh-huh.” Juleka shook her head in pity. “He’s going to wreck you…and you’re going to let him. I’m warning you now, Luc. This ends in cold showers and tearing your hair out and screaming into pillows and us cleaning you up off the floor.”

“What alternative is there?” Luka sighed, hands falling limply to his sides.

Juleka shrugged, flipping the page. “Jump ship? I mean, Adrien is adorable, and I feel bad for him, and I’d like to help him because, obviously, his situation sucks, and he doesn’t deserve the psycho-dick of a father he has, but if getting involved with Adrien is going to be bad for _you_ …I don’t want you to do this. I don’t want you hurt. You take too much on yourself, Big Bro.”

Luka looked out at the Seine, not replying, expression thoughtful.

A few minutes later, Luka picked up his guitar and began to pluck out the notes that had eluded him before.

Juleka grimaced, hearing how far gone her brother already was in the music. She sighed. Typically, Luka liked people right away or not at all. It usually took a long time for it to happen, but once Luka decided he was wild about someone, it was like flipping a switch, and he was all in. Her brother might seem quiet and reserved at first, but once he warmed up to someone…oh, how he could love…and it sounded like Luka was already throwing himself headfirst in love with Adrien Agreste.

Juleka shook her head slowly. “For all of our sakes, I hope he falls stupid in love with you. He’s a romantic like Rose. If you can sweep him off of his feet…”

“I shouldn’t be thinking about this,” Luka muttered, fingers stilling before switching gears into a minor chord progression. “I told him nothing was going to happen between us if he didn’t want it. I’m supposed to be keeping this platonic.”

“Let’s be honest,” Juleka snorted. “You’ve _never_ had platonic feelings towards him. The only thing you’re going to be able to keep platonic is your actions, and I don’t foresee you having a problem with that; you’re very good about respecting boundaries. Just don’t worry about it. Let whatever happens happen, and we’ll deal with the aftermath if it blows up in our faces later.”

“That’s reassuring,” Luka returned his sister’s snort.

Juleka shrugged unrepentantly. “Just being pragmatic.”

Luka parted his lips to reply but was cut off by an explosion in the not-too-far-off distance. “…What was that?”

Juleka frowned in the general direction of the noise.

It was only a matter of seconds before Chat Noir could be seen bounding across rooftops on the other bank of the Seine towards the commotion.

Juleka nodded, satisfied with the evidence. “Akuma.” She went back to her magazine article, unphased.

Luka hissed another curse, pulling out his phone and opening both the Ladyblog and a news app.

Juleka’s eyebrow slowly inched upward in surprise. “You don’t usually curse this much.”

“Just one of those days,” Luka grumbled, repeatedly refreshing both the app and the webpage until a live feed became available on the Ladyblog followed several minutes later by Nadja Chamack on the news.

“You look stressed out,” Juleka observed curiously.

Luka shrugged. “Just concerned.” He hissed as Chat Noir— _Adrien_ —pushed Ladybug out of the way of a projectile basketball, almost getting hit himself.

Juleka nodded. “Okay. I’m just going to accept that you’re going through a quarter-life crisis right now, so you’re going to be acting goofy for a while. If there’s anything you need or anything I can do to help you get through this, just let me know. Otherwise, I’m just going to stay out of it, okay?”

“I sincerely appreciate you, Jules,” Luka replied, not looking up from his phone but feeling truly grateful for his sister.

The akuma actually went down fairly easily, and, while there had been several close calls, the situation had never gotten too dire.

Luka set down his phone and returned to fiddling around on his guitar, easily sliding back into the sequence of notes that Adrien had put into his head.

Fifteen minutes slipped by unnoticed, and Luka only snapped back to reality when a blessedly familiar voice called out, “Hello? Uh…knock, knock? Sorry. Do you guys have a doorbell or something?”

“For future reference, there’s a bell pull on the banister at the end of the gangplank,” Juleka informed. “Shouting works just as well. We’re not particular around here. I mean, you could just come aboard, and no one would really mind.”

“Adrien,” Luka breathed, eyes twinkling.

Juleka stifled a snicker.

“Hey, Luka.” Adrien shyly raised a hand in greeting, making his way down the gangplank onto the ship, careful of the steps.

Luka got up and went to meet him. “What are you doing here?”

Adrien nearly missed a step, and his face fell. “Oh. Uh… Sorry. Should I not be here?”

“No, no, no.” Luka waved his arms at the misunderstanding. “I didn’t mean it like that. I meant…” He smiled through his embarrassment. “To what do I owe the immense pleasure of your company?”

“Oh,” Adrien chuckled, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Good. Well, I mean, I had to sneak out because…” His eyes flickered over to Juleka. “Uh…Did you guys hear about that akuma a little bit ago?”

Luka nodded, reaching out to ruffle Adrien’s hair. “I was watching the live stream. I nearly had a heart attack when Chat Noir almost got hit protecting Ladybug.”

Adrien grimaced, lowering his voice to a whisper. “Sorry. I _tried_ to be careful.”

“I know,” Luka replied quietly. “I could tell it was better than usual, but…”

Adrien smiled apologetically before resuming a normal volume. “…So I was sneaking out and in the neighborhood anyway, and I thought, ‘The Liberty isn’t far from here. I should go say hi and thank the Couffaines again and maybe get Luka’s number’. I mean,” Adrien reasoned, “I guess I could have just gotten it from Marinette or from Juleka or Rose at school tomorrow, but…then I wouldn’t have a good excuse to come see you again, and then I might lose my nerve, so… May I have your phone number?”

“Absolutely.” Luka pulled out his phone and unlocked it, opening up a new contact in his phonebook. “Put your number in, and I’ll text you.” He handed over his phone to Adrien who put in his number and handed it back.

Luka typed out a message and pressed send.

Adrien chuckled as he read, “Hello, Angel. Nice sunglasses, but it’s a crime to hide such pretty eyes. Heart, Your Orpheus.” Adrien stowed away his phone and adjusted his shades. “It’s my disguise for being out in public. So people don’t recognize me.”

Luka snorted in amusement. “Oh? À la Clark Kent?”

“Something like that.” Adrien shrugged. “Only I’m cooler than Superman.”

“And better dressed. I like you in leather.” Luka smirked.

“Oh?” Adrien waggled his eyebrows. “Well, you put some models I’ve seen to shame when you wear skin-tight clothes. You’re not making me blush today, Couffaine. Come on. What else have you got?”

“You two are dorks,” Juleka called out. “Just kiss already.”

Both Adrien and Luka’s cheeks turned crimson.

“You suck, Juliet,” Luka informed flatly.

“As a matter of fact, I don’t.” Juleka flashed the boys a toothy grin. “Luka does, though, if you’re interested, Adrien.”

“Oh my God,” Luka hissed, hiding his face in his hands as he cringed.

Adrien tried to keep it together and act cool despite the fact that his face was so red it looked sunburnt. “Uh…I think I’m supposed to take the guy on a date first. Maybe a couple.” Adrien attempted to swallow. His throat was feeling a little Saharan. “Maybe a couple dozen.”

“A couple dozen dates sound great,” Luka cut in. “Let’s get away from my insanely inappropriate sister before she mortifies me enough to get me akumatized.”

“I wouldn’t be opposed. I might as well give up while I’m ahead because Juleka is seriously kicking my butt at the getting others to blush game,” Adrien laughed sheepishly.

“Because she’s a shameless hussy,” Luka informed, nodding knowingly.

Juleka stuck out her tongue.

Adrien bit his lip. “Actually…I had another reason for dropping by. I was going to ask if I could take you to lunch.”

Luka blinked twice, wondering if he was hallucinating.

Was Adrien Agreste asking him on a date, or was this the same thing that Marinette often complained of—the dreaded friend date? Was Luka getting friend-zoned? Was Luka getting put in the special Adrien Agreste friend-zone limbo where you constantly got your hopes up only to be smacked down with a friend label left and right just when you dared to hope? How did Luka even go about asking for clarification on this? Guys did not just take one another out to lunch, but Adrien was rich and socially inept. Maybe that changed the rules. How could Luka be sure?

Thankfully, Juleka took all the guesswork out of the situation: “Holy carp. Did you just ask him on a date?”

Adrien opened his mouth to respond and then paused, frowning. “Did you just say ‘holy carp’?”

Juleka shrugged. “Rose is rubbing off on me. Did you just ask my brother out? Rose is going to be so ticked she missed this.”

Adrien’s brow furrowed in mild distress. “I mean…no? Friends take each other out to lunch, don’t they? Chloé takes Sabrina all the time, and Nino will usually pay for Alya and sometimes Marinette too. I always cover the bill when I get to attend in person, so…”

So this was a friend date.

Internally, Luka cursed.

Juleka did not look impressed. “Right. Well, Rose is probably going to count this as your first date anyway, and she’s going to be mad that she missed you asking Luc out.”

Adrien nodded. “I can live with that so long as she doesn’t say anything to that effect online or within earshot of a reporter.”

“I’ll pass along the message,” Juleka promised. “So, where are you taking him?”

Adrien smiled shyly at Luka. “He hasn’t agreed to go with me yet.”

“I would love to go to lunch with you,” Luka replied with a reassuring smile.

Juleka smirked, a perfect picture of a cat with a canary caged within its teeth. “Perfect. So where are you taking him?”

“Do you like Middle Eastern food?” Adrien inquired. “I was kind of in the mood for falafel. If not, there’s this great Greek place not far from Marinette’s house. Maybe we could see if she wants to join us—so long as you two don’t start acting all couple-y. I mean…” Adrien pursed his lips. “…it’s okay if you guys flirt a little, but flirt with me too, okay?”

Juleka clamped a hand over her mouth to keep from cackling.

Luka shooed her away. “How about just the two of us today? I’d be delighted to go get falafel with you, and maybe some other time we can go with Marinette for Greek food. Sound good?”

Adrien nodded enthusiastically. “Ready to go?”

“Sure. Jules, could you please put my guitar on my bed once you’re done laughing your head off at my expense?”

Juleka gave a thumbs up, and Luka followed Adrien back across the gangplank.

“There are two places I have in mind in the Marais: Chez Marianne and L’As du Fallafel. Nino has vouched for both of them as far as authenticity. Nino and Alya like L’As better, but I think they’re both about the same. I figure we can see what the lines look like, check out the menus, and then decide—or pick someplace else if neither of those look appetizing,” Adrien outlined, trying his best to be accommodating.

Luka ruffled Adrien’s hair fondly. “I’m sure wherever we end up will be perfect, Angel.”

The

End

(To Be Continued in Late to the Jabberwocky)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right. Thank you, Juleka. Thank you, Nathalie.
> 
> I would like to issue a challenge: Someone needs to write Luka and Adrien's "friend/first date" wherein they hit up L'As du Fallafel and walk around (perhaps in the Tuileries) and talk. Just saying. I would do it myself, but I have a sequel and a parallel story to write. ^.~
> 
> Ahem. But anyway. I realize that, for some people, this is their first time encountering my Gabriel. Thoughts? Opinions? I think he's not a bad guy. People generally have reasons why they are the way they are. People don't become evil in a vacuum, so I have a headcanon backstory for Gabriel that involves a very unhappy childhood. Perhaps I'll write it someday (after I finish the Daisy universe and Rejects and Happenstance). I think Gabriel really does love Adrien. He just doesn't know how to show his love for Adrien. He's controlling because he thinks he knows best and he wants to protect Adrien. He doesn't understand Adrien's needs. He doesn't realize that providing for a child is not the same as nurturing a child, so I think a lot of the behavior that we see in the show that comes across as cruel/abusive/neglectful is the product of Gabriel's social ineptitude and stunted emotional growth.
> 
> But did you like the part with Gabriel in the first half of the chapter? How about the scene between Luka and Juleka? The end with Adrien and Luka (and Juleka mixed in)?
> 
> How about the story over all? Did you have a favourite character? Line? Scene? What was your absolute favourite part? What was your least favourite part? What would you change if given the opportunity? What's your favourite kind of tea? (I think Tieguanyin and Cream Earl Grey are always going to be my top picks, honestly. ^.^)
> 
> What do you want to see from me in the future?
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, everyone, and I hope to see you again in the future. I hope to have the first chapter of Late to the Jabberwocky up next Friday, 09/13/2019. I'm still working on it, though. It has about five thousand five hundred words right now.
> 
> Take care everyone!


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